Sauce Boat
1755-1756 (hallmarked)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Sauce boats were among the new forms of tableware that were introduced into the British dinner service from the 1720s. They were influenced by the French fashion for formal dining and a greater emphasis on soups, stews and sauces. This example may have had an accompanying ladle and dish.
Design
The fashion for organic naturalism, in which animal or plant forms become not only the ornament but also the structure of the object, was an integral part of the Rococo style on the Continent, but was less utilised in England. It was popularised by the ornamental prints of such masters as the French designer and goldsmith Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (1695-1750). The maker of this sauce boat, Philip Bruguier (active 1739-1773), was a Huguenot and was undoubtedly influenced by the leading Continental goldsmiths working in London in a full expression of the Rococo style.
Time
Although there were close links between metalwork and ceramics in mid-18th century Britain, organic forms were found more often in ceramics. In the 1750s porcelain was modelled by the Chelsea and Longton Hall factories in such naturalistic forms as plants, vegetables, fruits and marine life.
Sauce boats were among the new forms of tableware that were introduced into the British dinner service from the 1720s. They were influenced by the French fashion for formal dining and a greater emphasis on soups, stews and sauces. This example may have had an accompanying ladle and dish.
Design
The fashion for organic naturalism, in which animal or plant forms become not only the ornament but also the structure of the object, was an integral part of the Rococo style on the Continent, but was less utilised in England. It was popularised by the ornamental prints of such masters as the French designer and goldsmith Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (1695-1750). The maker of this sauce boat, Philip Bruguier (active 1739-1773), was a Huguenot and was undoubtedly influenced by the leading Continental goldsmiths working in London in a full expression of the Rococo style.
Time
Although there were close links between metalwork and ceramics in mid-18th century Britain, organic forms were found more often in ceramics. In the 1750s porcelain was modelled by the Chelsea and Longton Hall factories in such naturalistic forms as plants, vegetables, fruits and marine life.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver |
| Brief description | One of a pair of sauceboats of leaf form |
| Dimensions |
|
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
These sauceboats are formed as naturalistic leaves with feet and handles cast as twigs. English silversmiths of the 1750s rarely used natural forms in this structural way, unless they were copying French work. Similar sauceboats formed as overlapping leaves were made in porcelain at the Longton Hall factory, Staffordshire.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Purchased with funds from the Ives Bequest |
| Object history | Made in the London workshop of Philip Bruguier (active 1739-1773) |
| Summary | Object Type Sauce boats were among the new forms of tableware that were introduced into the British dinner service from the 1720s. They were influenced by the French fashion for formal dining and a greater emphasis on soups, stews and sauces. This example may have had an accompanying ladle and dish. Design The fashion for organic naturalism, in which animal or plant forms become not only the ornament but also the structure of the object, was an integral part of the Rococo style on the Continent, but was less utilised in England. It was popularised by the ornamental prints of such masters as the French designer and goldsmith Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (1695-1750). The maker of this sauce boat, Philip Bruguier (active 1739-1773), was a Huguenot and was undoubtedly influenced by the leading Continental goldsmiths working in London in a full expression of the Rococo style. Time Although there were close links between metalwork and ceramics in mid-18th century Britain, organic forms were found more often in ceramics. In the 1750s porcelain was modelled by the Chelsea and Longton Hall factories in such naturalistic forms as plants, vegetables, fruits and marine life. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.94-1969 |
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| Record created | April 26, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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