Victorian Gilt Metal Giraffe Elkington Epergne Centrepiece 1868
A wonderfully decorative Elkington &Co Victorian epergne, featuring an elegant giraffe standing beneath an impressive canopy of sweeping palm leaves. The sculptural design is beautifully detailed, with textured trunks, individually worked foliage and a naturalistic rocky base that sits on top of the original mirrored matching base.
The giraffe is picked out in a contrasting gilt finish, creating a striking focal point against the silver-toned metalwork. The exotic subject matter reflects the Victorian fascination with travel, natural history and the wider world, when animals and tropical motifs increasingly appeared in decorative objects for the home.
Originally designed as a table centrepiece, epergnes were used to create height and drama on a formal dining table and could incorporate dishes, baskets or decorative elements for fruit, flowers and sweetmeats. This unusual example is particularly appealing for its wonderfully theatrical palm-tree form. This epergne centrepiece is missing its glass conical vases as many are missing and today we replace these vases with candles. Rare to have the matching mirrored base. Superb Elkington &Co hallmarks that dates this piece with the letter F to 1868. These are not British hallmarks but marks for the prestigious Elkington Plate.
This is a super heavy item so can only be shipped within the UK.
Date: Victorian, 19th century 1868
Material: Silver-toned metal with gilt metal giraffe
Style: Victorian / Exotic Revival
Condition: Good antique condition with age-related wear and patination consistent with its age. Please refer to photographs for details.
Dimensions: 60 x 60cm
A fabulous statement piece for a dining table, sideboard or console, and a particularly characterful example of Victorian decorative design.
Heritage House Note: We love antiques that bring a sense of theatre to a room, and this extraordinary giraffe and palm-tree epergne certainly does that. Decorative, eccentric and unmistakably Victorian, it is a piece designed to be noticed.
