1741 Dish and Ewer

1741 Dish and Ewer

Silver gilt. Maker’s mark: Paul de Lamerie. Measurements: Height ewer: 48.5 cm, Diameter sideboard dish: 80 cm.

The arms of the company are applied in bold relief under the ewer’s lip and in the centre of the dish. The silversmith’s exceptional skills is displayed by his mastery use of cast in high relief, and chased decoration to produce a design in the new fashionable Rococo style. The ornament on the dish shows four oval medallions filled with boy figures representing Hercules (club and hydra), Mercury (bag and cock), Vulcan (armour and anvil) and Minerva (owl, serpent and helmet).

Of Huguenot descent, Paul de Lamerie was a Warden of the Company and is one of the most famous English silversmiths of the eighteenth century. The piece was commissioned in 1741 by the Company and an inscription on the shield carried by Minerva reads “By prudence and good management I am restored.” It refers to the 1740 restoration of the Company’s benefactor’s plate which had been previously melted down to meet the various demands made on the Company.