Antique Silver Oval Platter

Found in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, this 19th-century silver platter carries a small crest engraved off to one side, two horses rising out of the waves. Platters this size were the workhorses of a grand French table, sent out from the kitchen heavy with the roast or the whole fish and set down at the center for everyone to serve themselves. The crest was a household's mark, engraved so that on a night when several houses lent their silver for one big dinner, every piece found its way home again. Sylvie lays it out with a loaf, a wedge of brie, and a bunch of grapes, and lets it do the serving the way it always has.