The lion's-head ring handle is one of the oldest gestures in European silver — borrowed from Roman door knockers and carried through Empire tableware, it turned any vessel it gripped into something slightly ceremonial. French makers kept the tradition alive on their barware into the twentieth century: an ice bucket for the apéritif hour, flanked by two small lions holding the rings in their teeth, is the classic dressed exactly as the classic should be.
This ice bucket is French, in silver-plated metal: a flared tulip-form body on a reeded foot, the everted rim bordered with a band of Empire-style arcading between beading, and mounted at each side with a cast lion mask gripping a twisted rope-form ring. Look at the lions' faces — the mane worked in layered locks, the brow drawn down — cast and finished with more attention than a functional handle strictly needs, which is precisely the point of the tradition. The plating is bright and the bucket stands ready for its work.
The condition is very good, with only the lightest marks of use to the polished surface, as the photographs show. Whoever iced their champagne in this bucket before you kept it gleaming. It belongs on a bar cart, a drinks table, or the sideboard at your next dinner.
The bucket is silver-plated metal with cast lion handles, ready for use. It arrives professionally packed and fully insured — we handle the paperwork and worldwide shipping, with all import duties paid by us, so there is nothing to settle on delivery. Returns are accepted within 30 days.
DETAILS:
Height: 13 cm (5.1 in) · Diameter: 14 cm (5.5 in) — roughly the size of a large coffee tin; holds ice for a full evening
Silver-plated metal; cast lion mask ring handles; Empire-style arcaded border
Condition: very good condition; lightest marks of use to polished surface
