Orfevrerie Gallia (Christofle) - Silver Plated Louix XVI Tea & Coffee service - France, c. 1925

Beautifully patinated 4-piece silver-plated tea and coffee set from Orfevrerie Gallia - a Christofle subsidiary. In the Louis XVI style, the pieces are decorated with ribbons, cross bands, acanthus leaves and flower buds. Both the tea and coffee pot with gilded edges of the lid. The large size sugar bowl with gilded inside.

Date c.1925 - Model number 5500.

The set is in top condition and has a slightly dark patina, which gives the whole a beautiful, deep shine.

The teapot, coffee pot, sugar bowl and the cream jug are marked on the bottom with [5500][Gallic rooster in shield] above [ORFEVRERIE GALLIA][Cat's head in square, flanked by initials C-C for Christofle & Cie/Charles Christofle]. These marks are fairly rare and date from the decade 1921-1931.

The tray is from another silversmith, but added to complete it. Maker's mark F-Deer-V (unknown).

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The "Orfevrerie Gallia" - a name mainly known among Art Deco collectors - took its name from the copper and tin alloy invented at the end of the 19th century, which would be used as the base material for all its products. The French Christofle, at that time mainly operating in the market segment of luxury goods and prestige items, considered the use of this material so risky that they did not want to see it directly linked to its own brand name. This is because the Gallia metal was actually inferior to the "Metal Blanc" alloy that had been used for Christofle products until then. Gallia production was housed in the Manufacture de l'Alfenide factory, headed by Félix Chéron. However, due to the lower production costs, Gallia did have the budget to hire well-known designers for their own lines (including Luc Lanel, Maurice Dufrêne). Thanks to the beautiful design and the lower cost prices, many of their products became resounding successes. When this realization sank in with the management of Christofle, the name Gallia was fully incorporated into Christofle. In 1935 it no longer operated autonomously.

Special thanks to dr. David N. Nikogosyan for his excellent research and source material, freely available online.