MARK OF JACQUES ROETTIERS, PARIS, 1734

Jacques Roettiers (1707-1784) was one of the most important Parisian goldsmiths who worked during the reign of two kings and two styles, Louis XV and Louis XVI. He was able to combine the two influences to create his own style characterised by subdued exuberance. His designs brought him a distinguished clientele, which included not only the French court and aristocracy but also international patrons, such as Empress Catherine the Great, to whom he supplied the extensive Orloff service.

This pair of sauceboats, once part of the Puiforcat Collection, were made the year after Roettiers entered his hallmark though he was by then already a skilled goldsmith. They demonstrate a calm elegance that would come to define his work.

Born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 20 August 1707, he belonged to the illustrious Roettiers dynasty of engravers, medallists, and goldsmiths, a family whose members served the English and French crowns for several generations. Roettiers studied drawing and sculpture at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, and although he was given a chance to become pensionnaire du Roi at the French Academy in Rome, he chose to stay in Paris and trained with Nicolas Besnier and François Thomas Germain. He went to London to work as an engraver at the Royal Mint, returning to Paris by 1733, when he married Besnier's daughter. He joined Besnier's workshop and by 1737 shared his charge of 'ordinary silversmith to the king'. His first contribution to the Royal household dates from 1742 and in 1749, he famously worked on Louis XV's gold plate, making the gold necessaire given by the king to Madame Infante. In 1765, Roettiers' son Jacques-Nicolas joined his workshop taking full control after his retirement in 1772. In 1781, Jacques-Nicolas left Paris, having made his fortune by selling the business to Robert-Joseph Auguste.