Paris 1898-1919 - Pair of sterling silver cups by the silversmith E. MOLLE

A fine pair of solid silver ceremonial bowls with chased ribboned rushes on the lip and base, the rim decorated with laurel garlands with crossed ribbons in the centre, each held by a circular floral fibula.
The bowls each rest on an elegantly moulded pedestal.
The basin is decorated with the monogram "CFF" in neo-Gothic letters, one of which is delicately guilloché.

Marks
• Minerve 1er titre (French mark for solid silver 950/1000).
• Master goldsmith "E.MOLLE, un trèfle", for Edmond MOLLE (1898-1919).

Dimensions
• Diameter: 23.1 cm.
• Height: 6.4 cm.

Net weight: 833.20 grams.


EDMOND MOLLE

Edmond MOLLE was a goldsmith at 114, rue Temple in Paris. He is the successor of Alexandre TORTEZ (1891-1898).
His hallmark was registered on 11 May 1898, the date on which his predecessor's hallmark was struck out and crossed out on 25 September 1919.
MOLLE made dinner services, mounted crystals, cups, kettledrums, napkin rings and fine cutlery. His production was considered to be of high quality and "rich in silver".

Both ceremonial and utilitarian pieces, symbolic of French-style tableware in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these bowls were used to present small entremets, chocolates, candied fruit and other refined dishes. Often made of porcelain or crystal, and sometimes mounted, they are quite rare entirely in silver.