Beginning in the reign of Louis-Philippe, 19th century silver and silverware became indispensable elements of the art of the table. The emergent bourgeoisie required displays of their success. To respond to this great demand, the production of silver and silverware further developed in the 19th century. Place settings in solid silver, the ménagère and the goblet appear among the star silver and silverware pieces devoted to the art of the table.
19th century silver cutlery was silver-plated, of solid silver or covered in a fine layer of gold. Given primarily as marriage gifts, some ménagères could contain up to three hundred silver place settings. The silver and silverware of the 19th century incorporated the aesthetic vocabulary of each style, as for example in the sobriety of the Louis-Philippe style or the rococo motifs revived in the Napoléon III period.
