Christofle/Manufacture de l'Alfenide - Antique Silver-plated Cutlery - Pompadour collection- 40-piece/12-pax. - France, c. 1890-1920

Beautiful silver-plated set of cutlery from the Pompadour collection. This is a fairly rare production; the cutlery is marked with the maker's mark of the Parisian Manufacture de l'Alfenide. This silversmith was taken over by the Christofle company in 1888, and continued to produce silverware under its own name until the early 1930's. As a result, this cutlery bears the maker's mark of Christofle as well as that of the Alfenide company. The set consists of a total of 40 parts and is fit for 12 people.

Consisting of;

- 12 dinner spoons
- 12 dinner forks
- 12 dessert / teaspoons
- 3 escargot forks

- Large soup ladle

The cutlery is in excellent condition - especially considering its age - with only superficial scratching from use, and some discoloration to polish here and there.

All parts are marked with [Goat's head in diamond, flanked by the initials M-A for Manufacture de l 'Alfenide] above [ALFENIDE] on one side and [84] [O-Rook-C for Orfevrerie Christofle] on the other. I suspect that this cutlery set was included into the Christofle inventory after 1935 - when the Manufacture de 'l Alfenide was finally merged with the mother firm, and Christofle abandoned all other hallmarks besides her own -  and therefore received the extra Christofle stamp.  The curious position of the Christofle mark diagonally above the 84 mark seems to corroborate this theory. The escargot forks only bear Christofle's own marks.