Vintage Glass Cake Stand

Outside Lyon there is a dealer we have known for years, and the loveliest things always come from the same place, his father's collection, built up over a lifetime of looking. This footed cake stand came from that collection, a wide plate with a scalloped rim and a ring of thumbprint ovals, a burst of rays at its center, raised on a fluted flaring foot. It has the weight and the shine of old glass, curving the light and turning whatever sits beneath it into something worth a second look. Sylvie piles it with apples or fruit, or a cake worth showing off.