Lot Essay
Chinese silver was being imported into Europe by the late 17th century. One example is a silver teapot, now in the Museum of the American China Trade. Long believed to be English, as it is struck with London hallmarks for 1682 in compliance with the official English requirement that foreign silver should be marked at Goldsmiths' Hall before it could be sold in England, (H.A. Crosby Forbes, J. Kernan, and R. Wilkins, Chinese Export Silver, Milton, 1975, p. 52, fig. 22), but which metal tests prove to be of Chinese manufacture. The existance of this hallmarked example allows the appearance of Chinese silver in England to be accurately dated, despite the fact that most examples are unmarked, and shows the source of inspiration for domestic silversmiths who copied the shapes and then used chinoiserie panels.
Willaume, one of the many Hugueouts who fled France in the late 17th century, produced a group of items in the Chinese style, such as a chafing dish of 1698, (V. Brett, The Sotheby's Directory of Silver, 1986, p.160, fig. 628); a set of three bowls matching the present example, (P. Glanville, Silver in England, 1987, p.235, fig. 93) and another nearly identical example, from the collection of Sir John Noble, Bt. (Christie's London, 13 December 1967, lot 27).
In the early 19th century the hexagonal shape and cast panels from these earlier examples was revived to be used for a group of tea wares. Examples of these, which are all hallmarked for London between 1818 and 1825, include a teapot by Storr & Mortimer (Brett, op. cit., p. 275, fig. 1273) and a cream jug by John Edward Terry, 1821, (Christie's New York, 20 October 1998, lot 291).
Willaume, one of the many Hugueouts who fled France in the late 17th century, produced a group of items in the Chinese style, such as a chafing dish of 1698, (V. Brett, The Sotheby's Directory of Silver, 1986, p.160, fig. 628); a set of three bowls matching the present example, (P. Glanville, Silver in England, 1987, p.235, fig. 93) and another nearly identical example, from the collection of Sir John Noble, Bt. (Christie's London, 13 December 1967, lot 27).
In the early 19th century the hexagonal shape and cast panels from these earlier examples was revived to be used for a group of tea wares. Examples of these, which are all hallmarked for London between 1818 and 1825, include a teapot by Storr & Mortimer (Brett, op. cit., p. 275, fig. 1273) and a cream jug by John Edward Terry, 1821, (Christie's New York, 20 October 1998, lot 291).