Antique French Silver and Ebony CARVING SET and STEAK KNIVES c. 1820

Silver : Antique : Sterling : Flatware

 

A wonderful set of early nineteenth-century French, dinner-size knives with their matching carving set! Dating to circa 1820, the set is all original and comes in its original case. There are ten knives (two missing of an original 12), plus the fabulous carving knife and carving fork. The handles are ebony or ebonized wood, beautifully mounted with solid silver. The knives retain their original carbon steel blades, which makes them ideal for steak knives: carbon steel blades are much easier to sharpen and come up much sharper than stainless or silver blades. And they will last forever! Each blade bears the mark of the cutler, Salmon à Paris. Please see the photos for measurements. Total weight without the box is 352 grams, 12.42 ounces.

The carving set is in excellent condition, with nice clean blades. Nothing to report beyond the usual hairlines in the ebony. A touch of Renaissance wax should help to reseal these. There are also some minor hairlines in the ebony of several of the steak knives, as may be seen in the images. None are problematic. There are signs of normal use and a bit of oxidation of the blades; one ferrule is just very slightly separated at the seam, but seems quite stable. No losses of silver and no bent tips. Ready to sharpen to your preference. A wonderful and very early set!

Item ID: 909-02