Antique Silver Epergnes
An epergne is a raised table centrepiece: a stand carrying several detachable vases, arms, baskets or bowls, set at the middle of the table to hold flowers, fruit or sweetmeats.
Antique Silver Epergnes
The form began in early 18th-century European dining as a raised stand holding several dishes, baskets or casters, so condiments, fruit and sweetmeats could be reached without passing them round. Through the 19th century it shifted toward flower display, with glass or silver trumpet vases taking the place of baskets.
On Sellingantiques the word "centrepiece" appears in about a third of titles as another name for the same object, and "flute", "trumpet vase" and "flower vase" turn up as often as "basket" or "bowl". A few stands double as candelabra, combining candle branches with dishes or vases.
The piece you are likeliest to meet is silver-plated, late Victorian through Edwardian and George V, with trumpet vases or flutes on a branched stand. Plated and plate terms carry more titles than sterling, and the 1910s is the largest single dated group, ahead of Edwardian and Victorian labels.
Two smaller groups sit either side of that. Hallmarked sterling stands run from a Georgian five-basket piece dated 1765 through hallmarks of 1884, 1906-1917 and 1924, with Birmingham the only assay office named in the sampled titles. Old Sheffield plate accounts for eight titles, four-arm and five-bowl stands dated around 1800 to 1850. Figural work appears one-off: sitting camels, elephant heads with a palm tree, three female figures, a bi-plane.
Range And Placing
Metal does most of the sorting. Sterling and solid silver titles cluster in the upper part of the range, and electroplated examples fill the lower part. Old Sheffield plate sits high too, largely because it supplies the earliest stands here, along with the single Georgian piece.
After that, count and scale. Titles quote holder numbers from twin fluted up to seven vases, with four-arm, five-branch, five-bowl and five-basket arrangements between, and more arms or flutes tend to sit higher. Only three listings state a height, at 10 1/2, 14 and 21 inches, the tallest of them among the highest-priced.
Modelling lifts a stand as well. Where a base carries sculpted subjects rather than plain scrollwork, the piece sits above the run: camels, elephant heads with a palm tree, three female figures, lion paw feet. Cut glass, cut crystal and opaline liners are named throughout, never with a glasshouse attached.
Antique Silver Epergnes Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical UK retail prices for silver epergnes, calculated from the Sellingantiques database of over a million retail prices indexed since 2003. This retail price guide relies exclusively on Sellingantiques data; no external sources or auction records are used, so the figures do not describe the wider market.
Silver epergnes have been listed on Sellingantiques since 2011, and the dated pieces run from 1800 to 1930.
The Antique Silver Epergnes Glossary
- Epergne
- A raised table centrepiece whose stand carries several detachable dishes, baskets or vases.
- Centrepiece
- Used in about a third of titles as an interchangeable name for the same object, so both words describe one form.
- Trumpet vase
- A flaring conical vase, and the commonest flower fitting on these stands.
- Flute
- A slender vase or holder. Titles count them, as in "7 flute" or "twin fluted".
- Old Sheffield plate
- Pre-electroplating silver fused onto copper, named in eight titles and tied here to the earliest stands.
- Assay year
- The hallmarked date some titles quote outright, and the only precise dating in this evidence.
Antique Silver Epergnes: Frequently Asked Questions
What was an epergne used for?
At the start it held condiments, fruit and sweetmeats on a raised stand at the centre of the table, within reach of the diners.
By the 19th century the emphasis had moved to flowers. Trumpet vases and flutes replaced the baskets, and titles on Sellingantiques name flower vases as often as bowls.
Are most epergnes silver or plate?
Silver-plated and plate terms carry more titles than sterling, so plate is the commoner meeting. Old Sheffield plate adds a further eight titles.
Sterling appears in eleven titles, with quoted hallmarks including 1765, 1884, 1906-1917 and 1924.
How old are these stands, usually?
The dated field runs from 1800 to 1930, with 36 of 58 listings carrying a clean year.
The 1910s is the largest single group, so a late Edwardian or George V stand is a likelier meeting than a mid-Victorian one. Loose labels such as Victorian, Edwardian and 19th Century make up much of the rest, and round dates like 1800 or 1930 read as approximate unless a title states an assay year.
How many vases does an epergne have?
Titles count them, and the range runs from twin fluted up to seven vases.
Between those sit four-arm, five-branch, five-bowl and five-basket arrangements. More holders tends to mean a higher placing in the range.
Do epergnes come with glass?
Glass fittings recur. Cut glass, cut crystal and opaline are all named, as liners, bowls or vases sitting in the silver frame.
No glasshouse or factory is named alongside them in these listings.
How often do epergnes come up for sale?
About six reach this market in a year.
Twenty-six different dealers have listed one on Sellingantiques, close to one dealer per piece, so supply is spread rather than concentrated.