What glass colours are most common?

Cranberry leads, named in 15 of 56 sampled titles. Ten of those say cranberry glass outright, and several combine it with ruby, milk glass or vaseline in the same piece. Uranium and vaseline green form a recognised second strand, alongside ruby, pink, milk and cased glass in smaller numbers. Clear cut glass and crystal make up the rest.

Are epergne stands solid silver?

Rarely. Silver appears in eight titles, and it almost always sits next to the word plated. Only one sampled title claims sterling. The other stands are silver plate, early fused plate, spelter, pewter, white metal or gilt bronze.

How old are most of these?

The dated field runs from 1800 to 1930. The earliest are fused-plate and cut glass centrepieces dated to 1800 and around 1820; the latest are an Art Deco French centrepiece and one substantial piece, both 1930. Most of the naming is bracket rather than year. Twenty-six listings say only "19th Century" or "Victorian". Where a decade is given, the 1880s and the years around 1900 dominate.

Why do single vases get called epergnes?

Vase appears in 10 of the sampled titles. Some are frilled-rim hand-blown vases, some trumpet vases, one a cased lily vase, one an Edwardian flute on a sterling base. They're the same vessel forms that fill a multi-branch frame, offered on their own. They sit at the lower end of the range.

What are figural epergne stands?

Stands modelled as figures or animals rather than plain arms. The samples include an eagle in pewter, St George slaying the dragon in silver plate, and a Fox and Grapes white metal frame holding opaque glass. Each turned up once. Gilt bronze and ormolu frames with mythical creatures, several of them French, form a related group.

How often do epergnes come up for sale?

About six a year reach the market on Sellingantiques. It's a small, slow category. Thirty-eight different dealers have listed one across the archive, so almost every example arrives from a different source rather than from a few specialists.

Home > Glass > Epergnes > Page 2

Antique Epergnes

24 items · page 2 of 2

← Page 2 of 2 →

An epergne is a dining-table centrepiece holding several glass vessels, trumpets, flutes, lily vases or small dishes, in a single metal stand, so one ornament served the whole table.