CHRISTOFLE, Important table centerpiece in silver-plated bro - Lot 86

CHRISTOFLE, Important table centerpiece in silver-plated bronze decorated with three putti on a mound near a vine; one holds a nest with two chicks, the second holds a net for the third clinging to a branch of the vine with one hand and holding a bird with the other. At the top of the trunk is a large gilded bowl with a scalloped edge accented with foliage and flowers. The base is decorated with three lion heads emerging from foliage and standing on cloven hoofed feet. The rim is underlined with vine branches. Both pieces signed "CHRISTOFLE" and marked with the Master Goldsmith hallmark (balance with a bee between the plates, topped by four stars, two branches below and the letters CC, all within an oval within a rectangle), hallmark used between 1844 and 1935. Numbered 1807315 (base) and 1807327 (bowl) Late 19th century H. 46 cm, bowl diameter: 36 cm Provenance : Wedding gift from the current owner's grandparents, 1920-1925 Bibliographical reference : Henri Bouilhet, 150 Ans d'Orfèvrerie - Christofle, Silversmith since 1830, éd. Hachette, Paris, 1981, p. 67 mentions the presentation of a table set with these three putti on the Christofle stand at the Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1851. A similar model in the form of a seven-branched candelabrum, originally forming the centerpiece of the Ministère d'Etat, dated before 1861, is preserved in the objets d'art department of the Musée du Louvre (inv. OA11685).