Cortasi Alpaca Silver-Plated Repousse Fruit Bowl – Grapevine, c.1940

Italy, 1940s, and someone at Cortasi was clearly having a moment. This silver-plated fruit bowl is absolutely dripping in hand-repousse grapevines — fat bunches of grapes, curling tendrils, and broad vine leaves cascading all the way around the wide scalloped rim. It's the kind of bowl that makes a fruit arrangement look like a still life painting, and an empty bowl look like a deliberate artistic statement.

The deep centre well is smooth and polished, providing a calm focal point amid all that glorious border drama. The whole piece is in excellent condition — the silver plating is bright and even, with the natural tonal variation in the recessed areas of the repousse work giving it beautiful depth and contrast. Stamped CORTASI ALPACA on the base — Alpaca being the Italian term for high-quality silver-plated nickel silver, a mark of proper mid-century Italian craftsmanship.

• Maker: Cortasi
• Material: Alpaca (silver-plated nickel silver)
• Origin: Italy
• Period: c.1940
• Dimensions: 29 cm diameter × 6 cm height
• Weight: 375 g
• Decoration: Hand-repousse grapevine border with bunches of grapes, leaves and tendrils; scalloped rim
• Mark: CORTASI ALPACA stamped on base
• Condition: Excellent — bright silver plating, no losses, beautiful tonal depth in the repousse work

WARNING: Once this bowl is on your table, guests will assume you grow your own grapes and make your own wine. Maison de L'oro accepts no responsibility for the subsequent questions about your vineyard, or for the moment you start seriously considering buying one.