Silver-Plated Wine Bottle Holder, French Work, circa 1930

An elegant silver-plated metal wine holder whose clean lines and careful silver plating testify to the attention lavished on the art of the table in France in the 1930s. Designed to present a bottle of wine, champagne, or Bordeaux at the dinner table on grand occasions, this accessory formed part of the silver-plated sets that adorned the tables of bourgeois and aristocratic households in the interwar years. Its structure allows the bottle to be handled with ease while presenting it to full advantage.

The French art de la table — one of the most celebrated crafts in the world — has always reserved a place of honour for serving accessories. In the 1920s and 1930s, table silverware experienced a new flourishing under the impetus of Art Deco, which reinterpreted classical forms with an innovative geometry. The great silversmithing houses — Christofle, Puiforcat, Ravinet et d'Enfert — produced pieces of uncompromising elegance, of which silver-plated wine holders were among the most coveted accessories for prestigious dinners.

This silver-plated wine bottle holder, a fine example of French table craftsmanship from the interwar period, will find its place in a characterful interior or will be used at elegant dinners to present a great wine with distinction. Decorative as well as functional, it embodies the discreet luxury and attention to detail that characterise the French tradition of the table.