Silver-gilt, France (Strasbourg), 1754, mark of Jean-Frédéric Fritz.

Silver-gilt beaker, elliptical in section with four lobes, the rim is moulded with a band of engraved Rococo scrollwork below on a matted ground. Cast foot with ribbed moulding.

Jean-Frédéric Fritz was born in Strasbourg, where he became a master goldsmith in 1752. This beaker is consistent with the type of small-scale domestic wares he seems to have produced. The Strasbourg Museum includes a cylindrical goblet, a dessert knife and sugar spoon bearing his mark. His widow continued to run the workshop on his death in 1771, and his son, Geoffroy, took over in 1789 (Le siècle d'or: 1964, p.65).
An early owner of the beaker, whose initials 'G R' are engraved on the base, is unidentified. In the nineteenth century, the beaker formed part of the collection which belonged to the collector and dealer J. H. Fitzhenry (d. 1913). Fitzhenry loaned the beaker to the Museum in his lifetime; on his death the V&A bought the beaker from his executors for the sum of £15.

Historical significance: The beaker is a well-preserved example of a type of vessel associated particularly with the workshops of Strasbourg goldsmiths. The decoration engraved around the rim derives from French models of ornament that began to circulate in the 1730s. This style of ornament, characterised by its asymmetric composition and sinuous forms inspired by the natural world, was known at the time as 'rocaille' (literally, in French, 'small pieces of stones and shells').

Beakers of this type were a speciality of Strasbourg goldsmiths, though they were also made elsewhere (Lightbown: 1978, cat 75). They often formed part of a travelling set, together with other dining utensils. One such cased set, dating from ca. 1735-40 by the Strasbourg goldsmith J. F. Kirstein, comprises a very similar beaker (minus foot), a knife, fork and spoon, kept in a shaped leather case (see Levallet-Haug: 1971, p.143, pl. 8 and Haug: 1978, nos. 74 and 75).

Jean-Frédéric Fritz (d. 1771), who made this beaker in 1754, was a master goldsmith working in Strasbourg. Beakers of this type were a speciality of Strasbourg goldsmiths, though they were also made elsewhere. They often formed part of a travelling set of tableware, together with other dining utensils such as a knife, fork and spoon.

The decoration engraved around the rim derives from French models of ornament that began to circulate in the 1730s. This style of ornament, with its sinuous forms inspired by the natural world, was known at the time as 'rocaille' (literally, in French, 'small pieces of stones and shells').

M.70-1914