Pair of Reed & Barton "Francis I" Sterling Silver Toothpick Holders. Weight - 5.51 troy oz. "X57". Measures - 2 1/4" high x 3 1/2" diameter. Bottom of one is as is. It has been called the sterling flatware of princes and presidents, and certainly Reed and Barton’s Francis I is an exceptionally rich and extraordinarily beautiful sterling flatware design. This Renaissance-inspired pattern has an ornate, tip-heavy handle that is decorated with voluminous scrollwork, leaves, blossoms, and fruit. The sterling silver bodies of each piece also give the pattern an eye-catching, glittering quality. The pattern can actually be described as fifteen designs in one due to an assortment of flower and fruit arrangements being used across the range of piece types within the pattern. Famed artist and designer Ernest Meyer was employed by Reed and Barton in the creation of Francis I. His goal was to create a pattern that eclipsed the splendid Renaissance-Baroque metalwork of Benvenuto Cellini, court artist and sculptor in the court of King Francis I of France. Because Francis I ascended the French throne in 1515, Meyer ambitiously set to work creating the fifteen ornate designs that would decorate each Francis I piece.