Small Antique Asparagus Serving Tongs

"To me, they're worth trillions — the joy of picking up asparagus with those little tongs!" Patricia exclaims of this tiny silver-plated find, discovered at a Parisian brocante and brought home to their Paris apartment. This is French table culture at its most particular: a single-use asparagus tong, made for one purpose and one purpose only. The French have always understood that asparagus deserves its own ceremony, and this small implement is the proof. Silver-plated and antique, it has a graceful waisted handle that widens into a flat, squared gripping head, its surface engraved with a repeating pattern of stylized asparagus spears. Patricia is clear that this was bought for beauty as much as function — and that it will not be doing duty with carrots. That specificity is exactly what makes it so French, and so appealing. Display it on a side table or in a glass cabinet alongside other small silver pieces, or lay it across a folded linen napkin at an asparagus supper in spring. It is the kind of object that rewards close attention and starts a conversation the moment someone picks it up.