MARK OF THOMAS GERMAIN, PARIS, 1738 AND MARK OF THOMAS HEMING, LONDON, 1755

Details

A LOUIS XV SILVER SAUCEBOAT AND A MATCHING GEORGE II EXAMPLE
MARK OF THOMAS GERMAIN, PARIS, 1738 AND MARK OF THOMAS HEMING, LONDON, 1755
Each oval on reeded and ribbon-tied plinth foot, the bombé body with mid-reeded rib chased above with Vitruvian scrolls and husks, the upper rim cast and chased to simulate a wave, the upswept scroll handle applied with acanthus leaf and husks, each later engraved under base with inscription, one marked on underside with charge, date-letter (V) and maker; on foot-rim with decharge, the other marked on underside with date-letter (n), assay office mark, standard mark and maker's mark
7 ½ in. (19 cm.) wide
42 oz. 19 dwt. (1,336 gr.)
The inscription reads 'National Pointer & Setter Field Trials / 1897 / International Champion Prize for all aged Pointers & Setters / Won by South Durham Daisy-setter'.

Provenance

Arthur Heywood-Lonsdale (1900-1976), Shavington Hall, Market Drayton, Shropshire.
Lt.-Col. A. Heywood-Lonsdale M.C.; Christie's, London, 27 June 1956, lots 131 and 132.
with Jacques Helft, Paris, April 1978.
Acquired from the above by the Blaquier-Arrieta Family.

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
Krog, Ole Villumsen (ed.). A King's Feast: The Goldsmith's Art and Royal Banqueting in the 18th Century, Copenhagen: The Royal Exhibition Fund, 1991, p. 99 and p. 260, no. 217-218 (for a pair of sauceboats by Christian Nielsen Hosøe, Copenhagen, dated 1784).

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

Thomas Germain delivered sauceboats of this design to King Christian VI of Denmark (1699-1746) between 1739 and 1743. However, the design should be attributed to Jacques Roettiers who appears to have created it as early as 1734 (see lot 13 in the evening sale). Although Thomas Germain (1673-1748) and Jacques Roettiers (1707-1784) were contemporaries for some fifteen years and both held the position of orfèvre du Roi, they never collaborated on commissions. However, popular designs for silver were often adopted by other goldsmiths, as occurs here. Indeed the model proved so popular that it was used well into the 1780s.

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