Exceptional antique Italian Art Deco silver-plated flatware service for 18 by Fratelli Broggi of Milan, comprising 108 individual place-setting utensils and five serving pieces.
Originally commissioned directly from Broggi by a winery in northern Italy, this unusually large dining service has remained together as a coherent set. Its history reflects Broggi’s important role supplying distinguished Italian homes, hotels, restaurants and wineries.
The pattern features an elegant architectural Art Deco design with elongated linear detailing, stepped shoulders and a stylized fan or shell terminal. The bold geometric decoration is especially characteristic of Italian design during the 1920s and 1930s.
The service includes:
18 large table knives
18 smaller knives
18 large table forks
18 smaller forks
18 large table spoons
18 smaller spoons
5 assorted serving utensils
Total: 113 pieces
One representative piece of each utensil form is stamped “125.” In traditional European silver-plated flatware, a number of this kind generally indicates the original plating standard—the quantity of fine silver used for a standardized production group—rather than solid-silver fineness. The 125 designation is consistent with a substantial, highest-quality silver-plated service.
The knives retain their original coated carbon-steel blades. Each blade bears a crown mark associated with Broggi’s production during the period of the Kingdom of Italy. Together with the distinctly Art Deco pattern and early carbon-steel blades, the construction supports a probable date of circa 1925–1940.
CONDITION
Good antique condition consistent with age. The silver-plated utensils retain an attractive, bright appearance with scattered surface scratches, polishing marks and normal signs of use.
The original coated carbon-steel knife blades show varying degrees of darkening, oxidation, surface wear and localized loss to the coating. One or more blades have more noticeable wear near the tip or edge. These condition characteristics are visible in the photographs and are expected in surviving pre-stainless-steel table knives of this age.
The set has not been aggressively polished, and no attempt has been made to replate or replace the historically important original blades. Please review all photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the condition description.
A rare opportunity to acquire a complete Broggi Art Deco service for 18 with five serving pieces, original early knife blades and provenance from a northern Italian winery. Beautiful for an important dining table, boutique hotel, winery, restaurant interior or serious collection of Italian decorative arts.
MAKER
Fratelli Broggi, Milan, Italy
DATE
Circa 1925–1940
MATERIALS
Silver-plated nickel; coated carbon-steel knife blades
STYLE
Italian Art Deco
NUMBER OF PIECES
113 pieces; service for 18 with five serving utensils
PROVENANCE
Originally purchased directly from Broggi by a winery in northern Italy.