French gilt silver Fiddle and thread decoration with scrolls, cartouche of engraved monogram and count's coronet and crest. The shell shaped bowl with openwork decoration of ermines, ferns and foliage Paris, 1845-1855, marked H. THOMAS and "Minerve 1er titre" Dimensions 20,0 cm Medium 141 g Notes Hippolyte THOMAS was a Paris spoon goldsmith, registered 1845-1855. In 1861 THOMAS associated himself with spoon maker Jean-Louis HÉNIN. Together they produced for ODIOT in order to fulfil Said Pacha's order of a 3000 pieces gilt silver cutlery set, replicating the one that had been made for Prince DEMIDOFF. Delivered in 1862, it was one of the largest commissions ever received by ODIOT. The mark was cancelled in August 1865. A spoon by H. Thomas is conserved at the Metropolitan Museum in New York