A Siġġiewi couple are collecting old photos of a “priceless” cake stand that must have graced countless weddings in their home town over the decades. Philip Leone-Ganado spoke to them

It may be just an old cake stand, but to the Siġġiewi couple trying to track down photos of it through the decades it is, in its own small way, part of the history of the town.

Carmen and Philip Pisani were clearing out their basement a few months ago when they came across the cake stand, an imposing four-tiered construction with different ornate decorative patterns on each level. As they later discovered, it is around 90 years old, made by a Maltese artisan out of chrome-plated brass. 

The stand had sat in the basement untouched for some 25 years. The couple had bought it for a confectionary shop they were setting up shortly after returning from living abroad.

The 90-year-old cake stand made by a Maltese artisan out of chrome-plated brass. Photo: Jonathan Borg

But its history with the family dates back further: long before owning it, they had used it at their wedding in Siġġiewi in 1969, as had Ms Pisani’s sister and other family members at their own weddings.

At the time, they explained, most couples in the town held their weddings at the same venue – a hall and garden then owned by Allied Newspapers’ founder Mabel Strickland – with catering by the same company, so the distinctive cake stand was likely to have featured at countless celebrations.

Sometimes you’re thinking of throwing something away, then you realise what you have on your hands

At first considering selling, the couple tracked down the cake stand’s origins to a metalworker in Qormi, the late Joseph Aquilina, whose workshop still exists today, run by his son.

“As soon as he saw it, his eyes lit up: he recognised it instantly as his father’s work,” Mr Pisani said. “We asked him how much it might be worth, but he said that since his father only made one, it was priceless. We’re not interested in selling it anymore.”

The couple decided instead to have the cake stand restored at the same workshop and embarked on a mission to track down as many photos as they could of its use in the town over the years.

Ms Pisani has since been going door to door asking neighbours for their photos and stories, which she is collecting in an album. She has also visited meetings organised by the local council for older residents.

Carmen and Philip Pisani today. Photo: Jonathan Borg

“Villages at the time were much smaller, so a lot of people know what we’re talking about and are happy to share,” she said. “This is part of the history of the village.”

As a piece of family history wrapped up in local history, the newly-restored cake stand is now a feature in the couple’s front room, while the photo album chronicling its past gradually fills up.

“Sometimes you’re thinking of throwing something away, then you realise what you have on your hands,” Mr Pisani said.