Basin
1789-90 (marked)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This basin 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 basin.
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 basin and its ewer 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 basin and its ewer 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, moulded and engraved silver-gilt. |
| Brief description | Silver-gilt, Paris, 1789-90, Henri Auguste |
| Physical description | Circular, two handled basin decorated with a band of stylised foliage and beading, a fluted calyx applied to the lower part of the bowl and chased foliage on the spreading foot, the loop handles spring at the upper junction from applied masks and foliage. From a design by Jean-Guillaume Moitte. |
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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 basin 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 basin. 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 basin and its ewer 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. |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.737-2008 |
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| Record created | June 19, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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