Christofle silver plated bowls, a matched pair of French coupelles -- shallow serving dishes -- offered together as they were made to be used. Christofle, the celebrated Parisian maison d'orfevrerie founded in 1830, became synonymous with silver plating of the highest standard across France, its pieces appearing on the tables of grand hotels, ocean liners and bourgeois households alike. These two coupelles carry that quiet authority into a smaller, everyday format.
Each bowl is turned in a low, generous hemisphere: broad at the lip, curved cleanly to a shallow base, with an interior polished to a bright mirror finish and an exterior left in a soft, warm satin. The contrast between the two surfaces gives the pair a calm, well-balanced presence that reads equally well as a catchall on an entryway console, a bread or olive dish at a dinner table, or a jewelry tray on a dresser. The forms are classic and unhurried -- no engraving, no ornament, just the confidence of good proportion.
Condition and patina consistent with age. Light surface scratches visible inside the larger bowl, as expected from use and decades of storage; the mirror polish remains bright and the rims are clean and even on both pieces.
Approx. 6.7 in diameter x 1.8 in deep (17 x 4.5 cm) for the larger bowl; approx. 5.5 in diameter x 1.6 in deep (14 x 4 cm) for the smaller.
