Description

An interesting little antique silver cream jug formed of an auricular shell with a ribbed serpent scroll handle and raised on a dragon support. Exquisite workmanship and very heavy gauge silver. Faint traces of original gilding.

Contains 75ml.
Weight 252g, 8.1 troy oz.
Height 10.4cm (top of handle)/9cm (lip). Spread 10.8cm. Foot 5.3 x 4.1cm.
Unmarked silver.
Probably David Willaume.
Circa 1720.

A small group of similar pieces were made in this form, a few with the mark of David Willaume, although most were unmarked. See a similar example in the Alan & Simone Hartman Collection “The Huguenot Legacy” page 288.

Literature. One of the most curious styles to become fashionable in early seventeenth century northern European silversmith work is the Auricular Style (with a resurgence in popularity in England during the early 1700’s). The name derives from the style’s characteristic idiom of organic fluid lines, shapes, and smooth surfaces, often reminiscent of cartilage and parts of human figures and animals, in particular, the curvature of the ear. At first glance, the basic structure of artworks executed in the Auricular Style gives the impression of an object that has come out of its mould unsuccessfully. In fact, in most cases, the objects were not made by casting at all. They were fashioned instead from a smooth (silver) plate that was meticulously worked into intricate compositions using a hammer and chisels. Because it required great skill to produce these pieces, the silversmiths who mastered the technique rose to great fame.

Click here to read the full article on the Metropolitan Museum website – “https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/extr/hd_extr.htm”

This amazing little jug is in very good condition with moderate wear consistent with age.

Maker: David Willaume

David Willaume, Huguenot maker, born 7 June 1658, son of Adam Willaume, goldsmith of Metz on the Pont des Morts. His first mention in London was in 1686 at the Windsor Castle, Charing Cross. Married Marie Mettayer 1690. Free 1693/94 as David Williams. First mark as largeworker undated probably 1697. Second and third marks 1719. His children were Anne, born 1691, wife of David Tanqueray, David, born 1693, and Adam and Suzanne, born 1694 and 1696, died in infancy. Willaume seems to have retired about 1728 (when David II entered a mark of distinctly different type to his father) and he purchased the Manor of Tingrith, Bedfordshire. Died circa 1741. David Willaume I was an important silversmith and enjoyed the patronage of the wealthiest clients in England. His many outstanding pieces display the highest qualities of rich design and impeccable execution. Among his impressive list of important works are the magnificent pair of wine coolers (Duke of Devonshire), the Luton Hoo toilet service, the pair of ivory mounted vases (British Museum), and the punchbowl and cover (Trinity Hall, Cambridge). David Willaume II, apprenticed to his father the master Hugeunot silversmith David Willaume I in 1707, free 1723. First and 2nd marks entered as largeworker in 1728, roughly the time of his father’s retirement. 3rd mark 1739. He became High Sheriff of Bedfordshire in 1737. Goldsmith to the King 1744 and 1746. Died 1761.

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