CIRCA 1785

Sauce tureens modeled in amusing animal or bird forms were a recurring conceit on 18th century European dining tables. Elephants were rare in this group. Symbols of the exotic East Indies to Westerners, elephants had been seen in Europe as early as the 17th century in the form of blue and white kendis. Western ships brought the actual animals back on rare occasions, including the Derby family's America, which carried the first elephant seen in the States to Salem in 1795. As sauce containers this recumbent form was obviously practical, but whatever European print (perhaps from a series depicting life in the Indies?) inspired the scene on the stands and the modeling of the tureens remains unidentified. A pair was sold Christie's New York, 14 October 1999, lot 35.