Ewer
1789-90 (marked)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This ewer was made by French silversmith Henri Auguste (1759-1816). Based in Paris, Auguste sold his pieces to elite society across Europe. He often worked with draftsman and sculptor Jean-Guillaume Moitte, who provided the design for this ewer.
William Beckford (1760-1844) was one of the wealthiest patrons and collectors of the period. He amassed an incredible collection of antiquities and decorative arts at his home Fonthill Abbey in Wiltshire. Beckford first encountered Henri Auguste's silver in Madrid in 1787. He admired the quality of Auguste’s innovative neoclassical pieces. In 1802 he purchased this ewer and its basin directly from Auguste.
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.
William Beckford (1760-1844) was one of the wealthiest patrons and collectors of the period. He amassed an incredible collection of antiquities and decorative arts at his home Fonthill Abbey in Wiltshire. Beckford first encountered Henri Auguste's silver in Madrid in 1787. He admired the quality of Auguste’s innovative neoclassical pieces. In 1802 he purchased this ewer and its basin directly from Auguste.
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 | Raised, cast, chased, punched, moulded and engraved silver-gilt. |
Brief description | Silver-gilt ewer, Paris, 1789-90, Henri Auguste |
Physical description | Silver-gilt ewer of oval form standing on a spreading foot, and with a waisted neck, decorated with bands of acanthus, stylised foliage and beading, the scroll handle in the form of two serpents springs from a mask of Mercury. From a design by Jean-Guillaume Moitte. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions |
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Gallery label | 3, 4. Ewer and basin
1789–90
This ewer and basin were originally owned by the famous collector William Beckford. He bought them directly from their maker, Henri Auguste, in Paris in 1802. Auguste supplied silver to fashionable British and French clients. He often worked with sculptor Jean-Guillaume Moitte, who produced the design for this basin (displayed in the drawer below).
Paris, France; Henri Auguste (1759–1816), from a design by Jean-Guillaume Moitte (1746–1810)
Gilded silver
Museum nos. Loan:Gilbert.736, 737-2008(16/11/2016) |
Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
Object history | Provenance: William Beckford, Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire, sale, Christie's, lot 78, 79, 80 or 81, October 9, 1822. John Farquhar. Jacques Kugel, Paris. Sale, Sotheby's, Monte Carlo, June 24, 1986, lot 1601. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This ewer was made by French silversmith Henri Auguste (1759-1816). Based in Paris, Auguste sold his pieces to elite society across Europe. He often worked with draftsman and sculptor Jean-Guillaume Moitte, who provided the design for this ewer. William Beckford (1760-1844) was one of the wealthiest patrons and collectors of the period. He amassed an incredible collection of antiquities and decorative arts at his home Fonthill Abbey in Wiltshire. Beckford first encountered Henri Auguste's silver in Madrid in 1787. He admired the quality of Auguste’s innovative neoclassical pieces. In 1802 he purchased this ewer and its basin directly from Auguste. 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 | |
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Collection | |
Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.736-2008 |
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Record created | June 19, 2008 |
Record URL |
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