Silver objects by Paul de Lamerie (1688-1751)

Paul de Lamerie (1688–1751) was the greatest silversmith working in England in the 18th century. A Huguenot, or French Protestant, he came to London as a small child with his parents, fleeing persecution in France.

His success lay in his exceptional powers of invention and creation, but also in his ability as a businessman, retailing some astonishingly spectacular silverware from his own workshop and also using the best external suppliers in the trade.

The V&A has an outstanding collection of silver by de Lamerie and his contemporaries. You can download and print the trail below and bring it with you when you visit the V&A to help you find the highlights of the de Lamerie permanent collection across the galleries.

Download the Paul de Lamerie silver trail (PDF version, 409KB)

Download the Paul de Lamerie silver trail (Word version, 40KB)

Newdigate centerpiece

Centrepieces sometimes comprise several separate objects, designed to be seen together along a table, often including functional items such as tureens containing ragouts (spicy stew). 

By the 1750s, this composite centrepiece had developed into the now more familiar dessert centrepiece, which became the grandest single item of dining silver, often with hanging baskets and placed in the centre of the table for formal meals. As here, some were very elaborate and could serve as a fruit stand, set out at the beginning of the meal and supplemented by further dishes of fruits and sweetmeats for the dessert course.

Sweetmeats, long known in the Middle East and Asia and to the ancient Egyptians, were at first preserved or candied fruits, probably made with honey. Subsequently, dessert foods from custards to candied violets were referred to as sweetmeats. Wet varieties were eaten with a spoon and included jellies, creams, floating islands and preserved fruits in heavy syrups. Dry varieties, for which this centrepiece could have been used, included nuts, fruit peels, glacéed fruit, sugared comfits and flowers, chocolates and small cakes.

This elaborate centrepiece, a wedding present, is richly decorated with characteristic Rococo motifs - bold scrollwork, flowers and shells - but also contains elements typical of de Lamerie's work, such as the helmetted putti.

Purchased with assistance from the National Art Collections Fund and others

Walpole salver

This square tray or 'salver' is one of two commissioned by Sir Robert Walpole to commemorate his terms as Chancellor of the Exchequer. It was a long established custom for the holders of certain Crown offices to receive as a perquisite ('perk') the official silver seal of their office when it became redundant, as, for example, after the death of a sovereign. The recipient then commissioned a piece, made from the melted down silver, and had it engraved with the designs of the official seals.

Sir Robert Walpole was Chancellor of the Exchequer when George I died in 1727 and this salver is engraved with the design of the Second Exchequer Seal of George I. The salver was eventually inherited by Sir Robert's youngest son, Horace, politician, writer and architectural innovator.

The superb engraving, of the highest quality, is attributed to William Hogarth. The seal roundels are supported by a figure of Hercules, representing Heroic Virtue, flanked by allegorical figures representing Calumny and Envy, with a view of the City of London in the background. The figures above represent Prudence and Fortitude. The border is of elaborate strapwork between masks representing the Four Seasons and cartouches in each corner. These show, within the Garter collar, the double cipher (initials intertwined) 'RW' twice; the arms of Walpole quartering those of his wife Catherine Shorter; and the Walpole crest of a Saracen's head.

Purchased with assistance from the National Art Collections Fund and others.

Ilchester ewer and basin

Ewers and basins, used for washing hands at table in days before forks were in regular use, were the most ambitious form of Elizabethan table plate and continued to be made through the 17th and 18th century for personal and display use. These two beautiful and complex pieces are vigorously sculptural and boldly asymmetrical. Although their designer and maker is not known, their style and use of heraldry strongly suggest that they were made by de Lamerie.

An example of the best Rococo design, the helmet-shaped ewer has cast and applied foliage ornament. This is decorated with bullrushes, perhaps from the work of Jean-Baptiste De Lens of Paris who produced a pair of wine coolers in 1732 with very similar decoration. Two asymetrical cartouches (enclosures) flank the handle, which is a mermaid with long flowing hair supporting the body of the ewer with her left arm.

The ewer and basin was probably a love gift from Stephen Fox, created 1st Earl of Ilchester (1741), to his young bride, Elizabeth Strangways Horner, on her 18th birthday. His and her impaled (divided half-and-half) coats of arms are engraved on cartouches on both ewer and basin.

Cup and cover

In the 18th century the two-handled cup developed into a ceremonial object, rather than a functional one. Covered cups were the ideal grand gift, and became a popular choice of prize for sports. In particular, they were presented to and used by male societies, such as colleges or trade and craft associations. As a result of their status as heirlooms, a disproportionately large number of cups has survived, compared to other categories of silver plate.

Here, the inverted bell shape is typical of cups of 1720s-80s. The elaborate cast mouldings reveal how de Lamerie, like many London goldsmiths, was moving away from the simpler decoration favoured by earlier generations to the much more ornate Rococo style which became popular in London during the 1730s. 'Rococo' comes from the French word 'rocaille' - the rock and broken shell motifs which formed part of Rococo design.

Tureen in the shape of a green turtle

The green turtle was a food staple in the West Indies, but in 1750 it would have been an exotic delicacy in England. The flesh was considered cleansing and, with its eggs, was thought to be an aphrodisiac. Within a decade or two, turtle soup was a standard component of the civic banquet, symbolising magnificence and plenty.

This tureen may have been ordered by a prosperous plantation owner or for an English trading company. A coat of arms has apparently been removed from the cover perhaps at the same time the unusual etching was added to define the turtle's shell.

Wine cooler

The style of this wine cooler, one of a pair, reflects the late use of some familiar motifs from de Lamerie's workshop. However silver marked by de Lamerie in the years before his death in 1751 is not as stylistically cohesive as his earlier work, raising the possibility that he was retailing wares from a broader range of makers.

Basket

This basket (above left) would have been used for holding fruit, bread or cakes. The rich ornamental border of sheaves of wheat and swags of flowers represents the bounty of the harvest.

The original models may be the work of the 'Maynard Master,' (see under Maynard Dish) but this basket was probably chased by another hand.

 

 

Pair of candlesticks

The exuberant modelling of these candlesticks (above right) must be the work of the 'Maynard Master,' recognisable by the plump 'cinnamon bun' scrolls at the corners, and the large-headed youths on the stems.

The transition of the base to the stem is somewhat awkward, raising the possibility that the maker was combining two separate moulds.