Gorgeous and rare early 1900's French sterling silver liquor flask. The glass tapered body features cut faceted panels enhanced with ruby cabochon panels and embellished with hand painted gilt accents. Surmounted with exquisite mounts crafted of the highest quality French sterling silver with gilt vermeil finish. Comprising of a lid and threaded collar, with removable drinking cup attached to the base. The silver mounts feature guilloche engraved decoration of polka dots and borders patterned with oak leaves and acorns. Retains a glass stopper. Measures 5 7/8" length. In overall good condition with general wear and scratches commensurate with age. Some wear to the vermeil finish and a shallow dimple on the lid that is hardly noticeable. Fully hallmarked with the French Minerva 1st standard mark, which depicts the head of the goddess Minerva with a number 1 beside her to denote a silver content of .950/1000 (almost 95% pure silver, and higher than the standard .925 sterling!) Also bearing maker's marks for Parisian silversmiths Bardies, Faure & Cie, active 1918 to 1920 at 13 rue des Fontaines-du-Temple, Paris. This mark was used by silversmiths Gaston Bardies and Clément Faure.