Physical description
A gold egg cup formed as a vase. The openwork bowl hung with cast and chased laurel swags, raised openwork foot and a detachable cover or liner.
[Egg cup] Urn-shaped gold cup on a round foot, the sides and foot pierced, cast swags pinned round the rim of the cup.
Place of Origin
Paris, France (made)
Date
1762-1763 (made)
1762-3
Artist/maker
Ducrollay, Jean, born 1710 - died 1787 (possibly, maker)
Materials and Techniques
Gold
Marks and inscriptions
Marked on the foot of the cup with an eagle's head facing right, Paris warranty mark for small gold items for the period 1838-1846.
Marked on the bowl of the lid or cover with a crowned 'Y', the charge mark for Paris for 1762; the rim of the lid or cover punched with a dog's head facing left, the discharge mark for Paris 1762-68 and the warranty mark for Paris 1838-46, an eagle's head facing right.
[Egg-cup cover or liner] Marked on the bowl of the lid or cover with a crowned 'Y', the charge mark for Paris for 1762; the rim of the lid or cover punched with a dog's head facing left, the discharge mark for Paris 1762-68 and the warranty mark for Paris 1838-46, an eagle's head facing right.
[Egg cup] Marked on the foot of the cup with an eagle's head facing right, Paris warranty mark for small gold items for the period 1838-1846.
Dimensions
Height: 8 cm Base of foot to top of detachable cover, Diameter: 5 cm Across the rim of the cup, Diameter: 3.5 cm Across the foot of the cup
[Egg-cup cover or liner] Height: 3 cm Rim to highest point, Diameter: 4.2 cm Across the circular opening
[Egg cup] Height: 5 cm Base of foot to rim of cup, :, Diameter: 5 cm Across the rim of the cup, Diameter: 3.5 Across the foot of the cup
Object history note
Made by a Parisian goldsmith, this diminutive but superbly crafted gold egg cup is a masterpiece of early neoclassical (Goût Grec) design and ornament. The eggcup has been matched to an almost identical design from an album in the V&A containing designs used by the workshop of the goldsmith Jean Ducrollay - a rare and exciting possible association.
Shaped like an antique vase it looks as if it has been cut from stone and is heavily ornamented with swags of laurel. The egg cup has a detachable gold liner.
Descriptive line
Gold vase shaped egg cup, possibly made by Jean Ducrollay. Paris, 1762-1763.
[Egg-cup cover or liner] Gold, raised.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Anonymous sale, Sotheby's, Geneva 16 November 1983 (lot101) The Dr Anton C.R. Dreesman Collection: Gold Boxes, Objects of Vertu and Portrait Miniatures, Christies London, Thursday 11 April 2002 (lot 847) Y. Bottineau / O. Lefuel Les grands orfevres de Louis XIII a Charles X (Connaissance des Arts) Paris 1965. Illustrated in colour p. 215
Y. Bottineau/ O. Lefuel:
'le [coquetier] en or, est d'une qualité tout à fait exceptionnelle. Les motifs entièrement repercés à jour, les guirlandes de laurier détachées du corps de la pièce sont travaillés avec une extraordinaire virtuosité. Il a de plus l'intérêt d'être d'un style très avancé pour la date à laquelle il a été exécuté.'
Labels and date
This gold egg-cup is a masterpiece of early French neo-classical design. It is in the Goût Grec (Greek taste) fashionable in Paris in the early 1760s. Shaped like an antique vase it looks as if it has been cut from stone and is heavily ornamented with swags of laurel. The egg-cup has a detachable gold liner. What appears to be a working drawing for this egg-cup is in an album in the V&A's collection containing designs associated with the Parisian worksehop of Pierre-François Drais, Charles Ouizille and Jean Ducrollay. The proportions and scale of this design are such that it could be easily for a large vase as it could an egg cup.
Illustrated with the egg-cup is a sketch for similar object from an album in the V&A's collection containing designs associated with the Parisian workshop of Jean Ducrollay. The proportions and scale of this design are such that it could be used as easily for a large vase as it could an egg cup. [26/11/2002]
Production Note
Not marked by Ducrollay but his identity as maker is suggested by the similar design in the Prints and Drawings Department.
Materials
Gold
Techniques
Casting; Piercing; Chasing; Raising
Categories
Metalwork; Food vessels & Tableware
Collection code
MET
