Centrepiece

For other uses, see Centrepiece (disambiguation).
Rococo silver centrepiece of the Prince-Bishop of Hildesheim, 1763
A surtout de table tray centrepiece at the Hôtel de Charost, home of the ambassador of Great Britain, Paris
Joseph Fauchier, c. 1760, Musée de la Faïence de Marseille

A centrepiece or centerpiece is an important item of a display, usually of a table setting.[1] Centrepieces help set the theme of the decorations and bring extra decorations to the room. A centrepiece also refers to any central or important object in a collection of items.[2]

Traditional types for the very formal dining table include the epergne, with branching arms ending in bowls, and the surtout de table, in English reserved for a long tray, often with mirrors as the surface, on which candles, sculptures and other objects are placed.

  1. ^ Oxford University Press: OxfordDictionaries.com. "centrepiece". Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
  2. ^ "centrepiece" Macquarie Dictionary (Revised Third Edition), Macquarie Library Pty Ltd (2001), Sydney.