Dish
1719-1720 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Although not French, the silver marked by Nicolas Clausen embodies qualities associated with Huguenot silver. The fine engraving and flat-chasing and grandly cast feet, chased with foliage, are typical. This form of dish was at the height of fashion in the 1720s, but continued to be made until about 1750.
Nicholas Clausen is first recorded in London in the parish of St.Martin in the Fields when he is listed in the 1709 Naturalization Act with two witnesses Godfried Wittich and Sven Holst implying Swedish rather than German origin. He was made free of the Haberdashers' Company by redemption on 1 July 1709 as 'Niecolaus Clauson'. He entered his first mark at Goldsmiths' Hall that year when his address was given as Orange Street, near Leicester Fields, an area dominated by established immigrant Huguenot craftsmen. His most spectacular work is the Russian imperial throne in the State Hermitage, St Petersburg. This was reported in The Gentleman's Magazine 31 July 1732
'a magnificent Silver Chair of State, adorn'd with an Imperial Crown, and a Spread Eagle, etc., gilt with Gold, made here for the Throne of the Empress of Russia, was finish'd this month. The Work cost near as much as the Metal, which weigh'd 1900 Ounces'
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.
Nicholas Clausen is first recorded in London in the parish of St.Martin in the Fields when he is listed in the 1709 Naturalization Act with two witnesses Godfried Wittich and Sven Holst implying Swedish rather than German origin. He was made free of the Haberdashers' Company by redemption on 1 July 1709 as 'Niecolaus Clauson'. He entered his first mark at Goldsmiths' Hall that year when his address was given as Orange Street, near Leicester Fields, an area dominated by established immigrant Huguenot craftsmen. His most spectacular work is the Russian imperial throne in the State Hermitage, St Petersburg. This was reported in The Gentleman's Magazine 31 July 1732
'a magnificent Silver Chair of State, adorn'd with an Imperial Crown, and a Spread Eagle, etc., gilt with Gold, made here for the Throne of the Empress of Russia, was finish'd this month. The Work cost near as much as the Metal, which weigh'd 1900 Ounces'
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.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver, raised, cast, chased, flat-chased, engraved |
| Brief description | Silver, London hallmarks for 1719-20, mark of Nicholas Clausen |
| Physical description | Silver dish of shaped circular form, resting on three scroll feet chased with foliage. The border of the dish is raised and chased with broad fluting and flat-chased with panels of trelliswork and shells motifs on matted ground. The centre is engraved with a contemporary cartouche containing the later coat-of-arms of Dowdeswell of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Worcestershire. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | The contemporary flat-chased diaper decoration around the sides of the dish is found on other important pieces of Huguenot silver including a sets of six salad dishes, 1713-14, marked by Paul de Lamerie (Sotheby's 4 December 1969 lot 235) and a pair of saucers, 1718-19 by David Tanqueray in the British Museum. The engraved cartouche is flanked by two seated captives with trophies of arms, suggesting that the original owner may have had military status. The later Dowdeswell coat of arms engraved in the centre of the cartouche are Argent, a fesse wavy between six billets sable |
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Gallery label | (Gallery 71, case 2)
2, 4. Pair of salad dishes
1719–20
London, England; Nicolas Clausen (active in England 1709–40)
Silver
Museum nos. Loan:Gilbert.704, 705-2008(16/11/2016) |
| Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
| Object history | Provenance: Mrs Elizabeth H.Baldwin; sale Parke-Bernet, New York 23 November 1946 lot 152; acquired by Arthur Gilbert from S.J. Phillips Ltd, London, 1981. |
| Historical context | Described as 'salad dishes' a category of silver first documented in the Garrard Ledgers (V&A Archive of Art and Design). In 1744 the goldsmith George Wickes supplied Lord Mountford with '8 Sallad Dishes' at £53 15s 2d with additional charges for gilding £16 9s and for engraving armorial crests on each of the dishes 16 shillings. Similar dishes are described as strawberry dishes. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Although not French, the silver marked by Nicolas Clausen embodies qualities associated with Huguenot silver. The fine engraving and flat-chasing and grandly cast feet, chased with foliage, are typical. This form of dish was at the height of fashion in the 1720s, but continued to be made until about 1750. Nicholas Clausen is first recorded in London in the parish of St.Martin in the Fields when he is listed in the 1709 Naturalization Act with two witnesses Godfried Wittich and Sven Holst implying Swedish rather than German origin. He was made free of the Haberdashers' Company by redemption on 1 July 1709 as 'Niecolaus Clauson'. He entered his first mark at Goldsmiths' Hall that year when his address was given as Orange Street, near Leicester Fields, an area dominated by established immigrant Huguenot craftsmen. His most spectacular work is the Russian imperial throne in the State Hermitage, St Petersburg. This was reported in The Gentleman's Magazine 31 July 1732 'a magnificent Silver Chair of State, adorn'd with an Imperial Crown, and a Spread Eagle, etc., gilt with Gold, made here for the Throne of the Empress of Russia, was finish'd this month. The Work cost near as much as the Metal, which weigh'd 1900 Ounces' 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. |
| Associated object | |
| Bibliographic reference | Schroder, Timothy The Gilbert collection of gold and silver. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1988, cat. no. 37, pp. 155-57 |
| Other numbers |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.704-2008 |
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| Record created | June 19, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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