French Silver Empire Tea and Coffee Set

A French silver Empire style four piece tea and coffee set, Minerva 1 standard. 950, unknown maker's mark to lozenge. In French Empire style, comprising ovoid tea and coffee pots, creamer and sugar basin, the pots with swan finials and spouts, the hinged covers with pierced galleries, the bodies tapering above a girdle lappet band, the cover and foot with matching lappet bands, with Empire style bracket timber handles, each marked to the underside and cover, height 8.27 in. and smaller

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Finial - An architectural decoration, found on the upper parts of of an object. On furniture they are usually found on pediments, canopies and shelf supports. On smaller ceramic or silver items, such as spoons, they may decorate the top of the item itself, or the lid or cover where they provide a useful handle for removal.

Finials have a variety of shapes and forms. They may be urn-shaped, baluster shaped round or spiral, but usually taper into an upper point. Many real life shapes may also be used as finials, such as pineapples, berries, pinecones, buds, lotus and acorns. Sometimes animals such as a lion are depicted, or fish and dolphins.
Oviform /ovoid - The outline loosely resembling the shape of an egg.
Empire Style - The Empire style was a version of neo-classicism popular from 1800 to 1830, coinciding with the rule of Napoleon I from 1840-15. In England the style corrosponds with the Regency style and in the United States to the Federal style.

The style is inspired by classical Rome and Greece, as reflected in the decorative motifs in the the design such as paterae, guilloches, acanthus and swags, and pieces are lavishly decorated with applied gilded decoration.

This item has been included into following indexes:

coffee sets/services - silver items 444
silver, country of manufacture - French 353
tea sets/services
- silver, four piece 317
- silver, French 13