3-008-756 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Silver surtout of the Duke of Magenta, in the International Exhibition, 1862. 'The gold and silver works of the French establishment of M. Charles Christofle, the celebrated gold and silver smith of the Rue de Bondy at Paris, have attracted general attention and admiration from the visitors to the International Exhibition. We reproduce one of his principal works of art, the silver surtout sent by his Majesty Napoleon III. to the Duke of Magenta to grace the historical banquet offered by the Ambassador Extraordinary of France to the now King of Prussia on the occasion of the coronation fetes at Berlin. This beautiful object represents the harvest, the vintage, fishing, and the chase - that is to say, the different sources of gastronomical luxury. The surtout, laden with fruits and flowers, sparkling with reflected light, and occupying the centre of an immense table surrounded with the members of several Royal families and the most remarkable celebrities of the world, then met with that august approbation which has since been confirmed by all who have had an opportunity of examining what may be justly considered to be one of the most beautiful of M. Christofle's artistic creations'. From "Illustrated London News", 1862.