The vine and hop motifs entwined in the decoration of this ladle eloquently proclaim its purpose. The delicate modelling of the detail, although a little worn through use, is characteristic of the silver associated with Paul de Lamerie's virtuoso modeller, the enigmatic Maynard Master. De Lamerie's workshop regularly supplied ladles for bowls and tureens.
Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
Physical description
Punch ladle; silver, cast, chased and engraved; the stem elongated and decorated with scroll, vine and hop motifs in relief; the bowl plain on the inside, the outside as stylized shell; with unidentified crest on stem
Place of Origin
London, England (assayed)
Date
1738-1739 (hallmarked)
Artist/maker
Paul de Lamerie, born 1688 - died 1751 (maker)
Materials and Techniques
Cast, chased and engraved silver
Dimensions
Length: 37.2 cm, Weight: 415 g
Object history note
The object's function as a punch ladle is clearly indicated by the use of vine and hop motifs in the decoration. P. A. S. Phillips, writing in 1935 (p. 103), suggested that "this is probably a unique specimen", but a virtually identical, although unmarked, ladle appeared at Christie's in 1977 (Clayton 1985B, p. 184, no. 3) (Schroder, 1988, p. 237)
Provenance: Possibly Phillips Garden, sale, 1751. Lord Cranworth, sale, Christie's, lot 103 (sold with a soup tureen by Phillips Garden), April 15, 1931. Crichton Brothers, London. Sale, Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York, lot 72, June 4, 1974.
Descriptive line
Cast, chased and engraved silver punch ladle; London hallmarks for 1738-39, mark of Paul de Lamerie
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Phillips, P.A.S. Paul de Lamerie, citizen and goldsmith of London: A study of his life and work, 1688-1757. London: B.T. Batsford, 1935, p. 103, pls. CXIII-CXIV.
Art at Auction: The Year at Sotheby Parke Bernet 1973-74, London; New York: Sotheby & Co. [etc.], p. 284
Brett, Vanessa. The Sotheby's Directory of Silver, 1600-1940. London: Sotheby's Publications, 1986, pl. 716.
Alcorn, Ellenor, with a foreword by Tessa Murdoch. Beyond the maker's mark: Paul de Lamerie Silver in the Cahn Collection. Cambridge: John Adamson, 2006.
Information on Maynard Master
Schroder, Timothy. The Gilbert collection of gold and silver. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1988, cat. no. 60, pp. 237-38. ISBN.0875871445
Jones, William Ezelle. Exhibition catalogue, Monumental silver: selections from the Gilbert Collection. Los Angeles ( Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1977, cat. no. 11.
Exhibition History
Monumental Silver: Selections from the Gilbert Collection (Los Angeles County Museum of Art 01/01/1977-31/12/1977)
Art Treasures Exhibition (Christie, Manson and Woods 01/01/1932-31/12/1932)
Materials
Silver
Techniques
Engraving (incising); Casting; Chasing
Subjects depicted
Shell; Hop
Categories
Drinking; Metalwork
Collection code
MET
