Set of Four French Silver-Plated Bottle Coasters

The bottle coaster — or dessous de bouteille in French — is one of the smallest yet most revealing accessories of the traditional French table. Placed beneath a wine or sauce bottle to protect the pristine tablecloth from drips and rings, it is an object whose modest size belies its importance in the ceremony of French hospitality. To set the table with silver-plated bottle coasters was to signal a standard of care and refinement that distinguished the truly accomplished host.

This set of four French silver-plated bottle coasters, dating to circa 1900, reflects the Belle Époque's obsession with completeness and quality in all things pertaining to the table. Each coaster measures 9.5 × 9.5 × 2.5 cm — a scale precisely calibrated to the base of a wine or sauce bottle — and the silver-plated surface imparts to even this small object the warm prestige of precious metal.

The set of four is particularly desirable, allowing the complete formal table to be appointed with matching coasters at each bottle or decanter position. The uniformity of the set, its fine silver-plating, and its Belle Époque provenance all contribute to the considerable charm and collectibility of these objects.

A charming and complete set for the collector of French Belle Époque table arts, these silver-plated bottle coasters represent the finest tradition of French attention to detail at the table. Small in scale but rich in their evocation of the gracious French art of living, they make a delightful and historically significant addition to any collection.