Rare Silver Individual Asparagus Holders By Henin Cie~Sold~

A Beautiful and Extremely Rare Antique French Silver Set of 12 Asparagus Holders and Their Server by ‘Maitres Orfèvres’ HENIN & Cie

It is getting harder and harder to find these amazing implements in silver, so we are really delighted to finally be able to present you with a complete Set which alsoincludes its Asparagus Server.
These 12 holders are delicately decorated in Louis XV Style with crossed ribbon designs on the handles while the tip ends with a lovely acanthus leaf design.
The Server is a larger version of the smaller items with a cut out design of an acanthus leaf on 4 sides.

They are part of all these implements that were created to facilitate meals and particularly to avoid to the diner participants any occasion to dirty their hands while dining….
These little guys were used to permit guests to eat their asparaguses cleanly, without the use of a fork and knife, yet without using their fingers!

This set is to be likened to the set presented in David Allan’s great book: ‘Le Couvert Et La Coutellerie de la Table Française au XIX’, page 141. Though the set presented in the book is in plated silver – and our lovely fellows are in solid silver!

The pieces are in perfect condition, great to hold and very practical!
A sure way to start a conversation at your table and a beautiful addition to a collection!
The individual Asparagus Holders each measure 5.11 Inches
The Asparagus Server measures 6.29 inches

The Hallmark is ‘Minerve’ 1 -1st title (950/1000)- 1838 -1919– Paris

The Makers Mark is for HENIN & Compagnie. It shows an H the sign & and a C topped by a branch and a star underneath the letters.
The Mark was registered on May 11th 1875. Their shop was located at 33 Rue Des Archives in the Marais area of Paris.

Henin & Compagnie were the successors of Thomas & Henin which first started in 1865. They were followed by Henin Freres which registered their mark by August 1865 and cancelled it in August 1872. In turn they were followed by Henin & Fils which finally gave way to Henin & Compagnie in 1875.
Henin & Compagnie were in turn followed by Henin & Vivier in 1891.
In 1933 the dynasty gave way to the House of Henin.

Reference number: CC-150