Puiforcat Sterling Silver Service Richelieu, 235 pieces

The service comprises :

• 18 dinner knives 26 cm

• 18 dinner forks 21 cm

• 18 dinner spoon 21 cm

• 18 dessert knives 21 cm

• 18 dessert forks 17,8 cm

• 18 dessert spoons 17,8 cm

• 24 teaspoons 14 cm

• 18 ice cream or soup spoons 17,8 cm

• 18 salad forks 17,8 cm

• 18 fish forks 18 cm

• 18 fish knives 21 cm

• 16 butter knives

• 5 salt spoons

• 10 serving pieces from 17,7 cm to 26 cm

In 1820, Emile and Jean-Marie Puiforcat made a partnership with Jean-Marie Fusch to create a small cutlery shop in Paris. The family business grew up in the 1915s as a luxury silverware company thanks to the management of Louis-Victor Tabouret, the husband of a Puiforcat’s heir. He adopted the family name of Puiforcat to perpetuate the dynasty and his son Jean Puiforcat (1897-1945) joined the company close to 1920. He was a visionary artist who brought pure cubic - then curved- lines that made Puiforcat famous and seduced prestigious clients. For example, he is known for having succeeded in modernizing the design of flatware that he wanted both practical and elegant with large, smooth surfaces, spherical motifs or sharp edges all with discrete and sophisticated completions. Puiforcat have been a renowned silversmith and have contributed to the radiance and distinction to the French tableware, as Christofle or Cardeilhac. Hermès bought the company in 1990 but Puiforcat still exists today by continuing to produce its iconic models and by creating new yearly collaborations with artists and designers. 

Sources :

Krekel-Aalberse Annelies, Argenterie Art-Nouveau et Art Déco, Paris,Les Editions de l’amateur, 1990, p.67-69