MARK OF ODIOT, PARIS, CIRCA 1890

The arms on the present écuelles are those of the Bibesco (Bibescu) family, a celebrated princely family of the Holy Roman Empire, of Romanian origin. Given their date (circa 1890), these objects were almost certainly commissioned by Prince Nicolas Bibesco (1832-1890), Prince Georges Bibesco (1834-1902) or Prince Alexandre Bibesco (1842-1911). These three Princes were the youngest sons of Prince Georges Bibesco (1804-1873) and Princess Zoé Mavrocordato-Bassarba de Brancovan (1805-1892). The former ruled as Prince of Wallachia from 1842 to 1848. In accordance with the traditions of the Romanian nobility of the era, the family maintained residences in Bucharest and Paris, and lived between them until the Revolution of 1848, when they moved permanently to the French capital. These écuelles were commissioned from Odiot, one of the greatest French silversmiths of the nineteenth century, almost certainly for use in one of the family’s residences in the City of Light.