Description

An important pair of antique silver second course dishes by the celebrated Huguenot maker Paul de Lamerie. The plates have a generous, dished bowl with a shaped, reed and shell border. There is a hand engraved crest to the edge of the rim.

Total weight 1988 grams, 63.9 troy oz.
Diameter 28.5cm. Height 3.8cm.
London 1734.
Maker Paul de Lamerie.
Sterling silver.
18th century.

A very useful size, ideal for bread and fruit, and would make a valuable addition to any decorative table setting.

Marks. Stamped underneath with a full and matching set of English silver hallmarks. The marks on Plate 1 are very sharp and readable. The marks on Plate 2 are less clear, mainly due to where they are located close to the bowl edge, but still can be easily read for Paul de Lamerie, London 1734. The scratchweights are 35=0 and 35=3.

Literature. This plate would have been used on the dining table for serving a variety of foods including meats, fish, vegetables, flans, tarts etc, and also the dessert course. Second course dishes very often came from grand houses and would have been part of a suite of dishes including dinner and soup plates, oval serving plates and mazerines.

The plates are in very good condition with an excellent patina. Moderate signs of wear commensurate with age with some light scratching from use which has not been polished away.

Maker: Paul de Lamerie

Paul de Lamerie (9 April 1688–1 August 1751). The Victorian and Albert Museum describes him as the "greatest silversmith working in England in the 18th century". Born in Bois-le-Duc, his French Huguenot family chose to follow William of Orange to England during the Glorious Revolution. In August 1703, de Lamerie became the apprentice to a London goldsmith of Huguenot origin, Pierre Platel (1659-1739). De Lamerie opened his own workshop in 1713 (1st mark "LA" - Britannia mark) and was appointed goldsmith to George I in 1716. 2nd mark 1733 - sterling mark). He worked in partnership with Ellis Gamble - formerly apprentice to Master William Hogarth- between 1723 and 1728. His early work is in the simple Queen Anne style, following classical French models, but de Lamerie is noted for his elaborate rococo style of the 1730s, particularly the richly-decorated works of an unidentified craftsman, the Maynard Master. Leaving his first premises in Great Windmill Street he moved to 40 Gerrard Street in 1738. Here he lived and probably had his shop, his workshops being located in one of the 48 properties he owned in the area. His customers included Tsarinas Anna and Catherine, Count Aleksey, Sir Robert Walpole, Benjamin Mildmay (Earl Fitzwalter and Viscount Harwich), the Earl of Ilchester, the Earl of Thanet, Viscount Tyrconnell, the Duke of Bedford, and other members of the English aristocracy. He also worked for King George V of Portugal. One of his productions to the Portuguese Court was a huge solid silver bath tub lost in the great 1755 Lisbon earthquake. A two-handled silver cup and cover by Paul de Lamerie, dated 1720, was among the wedding gifts of Queen Elizabeth II. Paul de Lamerie ranks as one of the stars of England’s finest period of silver. He was the most prolific silversmith of his time and his fame still lives on today.

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