A design for a silver soup tureen by John Yenn, after Sir William Chambers, c. 1770

A drawing of a silver soup tureen. Profile. Shown full size 279 x 450 mm.

A design for a silver soup tureen. The tureen is of bombèe form with a band of tied reeding around the top. The lid is spirally gadrooned with a naturalistically rendered handle in the form of an artichoke or flower. The feet and handles are made from one serpentine oak branch, completed with acorns. Behind the design lie a number of French rococo prototypes including the Berkeley Castle Service by Jacques Roettiers of 1735-38. A tureen to this design was made in 1767-68 marked by John Swift for an unknown client, making it the earliest datable silver design by Chambers whose appearance we know. In 1771-1772, the design was used for a pair of tureens (marked by Sebastian and James Crespel) for Chamber’s architectural client the Earl of Pembroke, of Pembroke House and Wilton. The sheet has a ruled pen and ink border, and is probably a preparatory presentation drawing. Bought together with 72 other drawings from Major H. Bateman via J. Starkie Gardner on the 29th November 1910, for £ 37-0-0.

Chambers was born in Sweden and died in London. He travelled widely, visiting China, and studied architecture at the Ecole des Arts, Paris, from 1749 and in Italy from 1750 to 1755. Many of his drawings from this period are contained in his important 'Franco-Italian' album, held in the V&A. Chambers moved to London in 1755 and published his influential Treatise on Civil Architecture in 1759. Chambers demonstrated the breadth of his style in buildings such as Gower (later Carrington) House and Melbourne House, London, in such country houses as Duddingston, Scotland, and in the garden architecture he designed for Wilton House, Wiltshire, and at Kew Gardens. He became head of government building in 1782, and in this capacity built Somerset House, London. Chambers also designed furniture and silver. The silver is usually linked to clients for whom he was also designing architectural schemes. The designs for silver are all in the hand of the architect John Yenn, who was a pupil of Chambers, for whom he became a leading draughtsman, working for him from 1764 until the late 1770s, when he began to practice on his own account.

E.4993-1910