Sugar caster, 1732
The new French Rococo style, the beautifully engraved Lequesne arms and ownership by a successful merchant perfectly embodied the vibrant C18th trade in London.
Christie's
Pierre Harache arrived in 1681 and Simon Pantin worked in London from 1682. After the 1685 expulsion, David Willaume & Daniel Garnier got papers in 1687, Augustine Courtauld arrived in 1688. John Chartier was in London by 1688 but didn’t obtain denisation papers until 1697. Phillip Rollos was in the 1690 denisation list. Louis Mettayer was apprenticed in 1693; Pierre Platel arrived with William III in 1688, but appeared with Louis Cuny in 1697 papers. Jacob & Samuel Margas were apprenticed 1699, Isaac Liger 1700 & Simon Pantin 1701; then the Archambo and Tanqueray families. I researched these beautiful men during a 3 years thesis, and will never forget them.
At a similar time in France, The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted the Protestant Huguenots the right to practise their religion without persecution in Catholic France. But when these Protestants were finally exiled by King Louis XIV in 1685, they had to find safe homes in other countries. Superb Huguenot goldsmiths set up business in London where aristocratic British patrons flocked to them.
In their adopted country, the Huguenots rallied around to protect their silver industry. And they showed a sustained preference for marrying and apprenticing their children into other French families. John Chartier married into the Garnier goldsmith family and his daughter married the goldsmith Peze’ Pilleau; Louis Mettayer’s sister married David Willaume and his daughter married Piere Harache; David Tanqueray was Willaume’s apprentice and later his son-in-law; Simon Pantin was apprenticed to Piere Harache; Augustine Courtauld was apprenticed to Simon Pantin; Edward Feline to Courtauld; John Le Sage to Louis Cuny; Louis Mettayer and David Tanqueray were brothers in law of the engraver Simon Gribelin.
Royal appointments amongst silver artists, both locals and immigrants, were vital. Englishmen George Garthorne was royal Goldsmith to William III and Queen Anne; and Thomas Farren was a Subordinate Goldsmith to the King George I, 1723-42. From the Huguenot community, Phillip Rollos I was Subordinate Goldsmith to William III and to Queen Anne; his son Philip Rollos II succeeded as Subordinate Goldsmith to Queen Anne; and John Le Sage became Subordinate Goldsmith to the King George.
de Lamerie's cup and cover, 1735
classical Huguenot lines and limited added decoration.
Royal appointments amongst silver artists, both locals and immigrants, were vital. Englishmen George Garthorne was royal Goldsmith to William III and Queen Anne; and Thomas Farren was a Subordinate Goldsmith to the King George I, 1723-42. From the Huguenot community, Phillip Rollos I was Subordinate Goldsmith to William III and to Queen Anne; his son Philip Rollos II succeeded as Subordinate Goldsmith to Queen Anne; and John Le Sage became Subordinate Goldsmith to the King George.
classical Huguenot lines and limited added decoration.
V&A Museum
So who was Paul de Lamerie (1688–1751)? He migrated to London as a small child with his parents as refugees. Paul de Lamerie was apprenticed to Pierre Platel in 1703, becoming free of his master in 1711 and quite young when he became goldsmith to the King from 1716. Paul’s success lay in his classical creativity eg wine cooler, but also in his ability as a businessman 1730s-50s. A de Lamerie silver gilt sugar caster, decorated with the royal coat of arms, is now at the Worshipful Co. of Goldsmiths.
Huguenot silver artists created severely symmetrical Queen Anne ornament in classical taste. It was said that it was not until de Lamerie introduced the double scroll handle in 1723 that the general effect was made much less formal and ponderous. The broken scroll truly did have a softening effect, but it is not true that de Lamerie introduced this element in 1723. A series of cups by Rollos came out in the 1712-15 period, all displaying flamboyant double harp handles cast with beading and foliage, a style repeated by Samuel Margis in 1721. Pantin (1713) and Rainaud (1715) both utilised more stolid double harp shaped handles, while de Lamerie favoured the softer double scroll handle in 1720.
Elaborate cast mouldings revealed how de Lamerie, like other goldsmiths, was moving away from the simpler decoration favoured by the earlier Huguenot generation. They moved to the much more ornate Rococo style that became popular in London during the 1730s and 40s.
de Lamerie’s works have been valued above other Huguenot or English silver artists for a very long time, but I was keen to see the results of a de Lamerie auction. In July 2013 Christie’s London presented a Rococo coffee pot 1738. The silver coffee-pot was created in the George II era, richly decorated with characteristic Rococo motifs - bold scroll work, flowers and shells. (27 cm high). The coffee pot was commissioned by London-based trader, successful merchant and Huguenot, Sir John Lequesne (1687-1741). Lequesne and his wife Mary Knight married in 1738, the very date of the coffee pot. So now the question is: who was Lequesne?
Huguenot silver artists created severely symmetrical Queen Anne ornament in classical taste. It was said that it was not until de Lamerie introduced the double scroll handle in 1723 that the general effect was made much less formal and ponderous. The broken scroll truly did have a softening effect, but it is not true that de Lamerie introduced this element in 1723. A series of cups by Rollos came out in the 1712-15 period, all displaying flamboyant double harp handles cast with beading and foliage, a style repeated by Samuel Margis in 1721. Pantin (1713) and Rainaud (1715) both utilised more stolid double harp shaped handles, while de Lamerie favoured the softer double scroll handle in 1720.
Elaborate cast mouldings revealed how de Lamerie, like other goldsmiths, was moving away from the simpler decoration favoured by the earlier Huguenot generation. They moved to the much more ornate Rococo style that became popular in London during the 1730s and 40s.
de Lamerie’s works have been valued above other Huguenot or English silver artists for a very long time, but I was keen to see the results of a de Lamerie auction. In July 2013 Christie’s London presented a Rococo coffee pot 1738. The silver coffee-pot was created in the George II era, richly decorated with characteristic Rococo motifs - bold scroll work, flowers and shells. (27 cm high). The coffee pot was commissioned by London-based trader, successful merchant and Huguenot, Sir John Lequesne (1687-1741). Lequesne and his wife Mary Knight married in 1738, the very date of the coffee pot. So now the question is: who was Lequesne?
de Lamerie's coffee pot, 1738
curvy rococo lines and rich decorations
auctioned at Christie’s in London in 2013
sold for £3.5 million–£4.5 million.auctioned at Christie’s in London in 2013
As a child, Lequesne moved to Britain as a refugee with his brother, fleeing Rouen like many of his fellow Protestants. The Lequesne brothers prospered, trading with the West Indies. John became an Alderman of the City, a director of the Bank of England and was knighted by King George II in 1737. A successful marriage, with a HUGE dowry, and an equally successful career enabled him thrive.
The new French Rococo style, the beautifully engraved Lequesne arms and ownership by a successful merchant perfectly embodied the vibrant C18th trade in London.
Two Matching George II Silver Baskets, Paul de Lamerie, London, 1737 and 1740. The rims cast with dragons, flowers, and wheat above pierced sides and base rims similarly decorated, the centers engraved with arms surrounded by flat-chased rococo ornament, the fixed handles rising from busts, engraved on undersides with 1871 presentation inscriptions.
ReplyDeleteOnly de Lamerie's wealthiest and most important patrons could afford pairs of baskets, with weights as in this case of over 200 ounces of silver. The closest comparable to this pair are those made also in 1737 for John, 4th Duke of Bedford. It is no exaggeration to say that they are the richest and finest of their type ever to have been created by de Lamerie... the basket is a confection of unsurpassed craftsmanship in the ordering of the complex details of cast, chased, pierced and engraved elements.
Estimate: 80,000 - 120,000 USD
Sotheby's
The French were unbelievably stupid expelling their own Protestant citizens. It was brutal for loyal French citizens who lost their jobs, homes and families. And it was equally bad for the French economy when their best artists and designers went abroad.
ReplyDeleteDamn I never knew or even thought of coffee houses being around so long ago 1652 was a bloody long time ago. I don't like coffee can't stand the taste not keen on the smell either. Have to say the sugar caster, cup with cover and the coffee pot are all so damn pretty but would be a bitch to keep clean.
ReplyDeleteAll beautiful pieces, but I dislike silver simply because of its tendency to tarnish, so the only pieces I have are two teaspoons, the remains of a set of six. Being used fairly often they don't tarnish, but they are silver plated, not solid and the plate is beginning to wear off after fifty three years use.
ReplyDeleteSotheby's,
ReplyDeletemany thanks. The George II silver baskets are beautiful but more intensely decorated than the 1732 sugar caster for example. Made by the same artist, in the same decade and in the same country, but with a very different style.
Joe
ReplyDeleteit is not the first time a king or parliament has imprisoned/murdered/expelled a substantial minority of their own population. But these Huguenots were proud, honourable and productive Frenchmen. What was King Louis XIV thinking? In 1685 Louis XIV brought in the Edict of Fontainebleau and made Protestantism illegal, so 200,000+ Huguenots fled France. The next year remaining Protestants were rounded up and imprisoned and starved to death.
Jo-Anne
ReplyDeleteif you were wealthy enough and aristocratic enough to afford these stunning coffee pots, you would have had staff to do all the dirty work in your kitchen, laundry and the rest of the house :)
River
ReplyDeletethe silver experts said the following:
For _solid silver_ items, use a wadding impregnated with a polish eg Silvo. The material of the wadding is slightly more abrasive than the liquid polish but not so much as to cause any damage. However it is more abrasive than a liquid cleaner so a light touch is all that's required to bring back the original colour. Then use a soft cloth to buff and shine.
With _silver plate_ objects, liquid polishes are extremely gentle, used with a soft cloth.
Helen I know this is about Huguenots, not about silver art. But I remember our lectures and loved all the Huguenot skills.
ReplyDeleteHuguenot refugees from Northern France, merchants or weavers back in France, were forced into exile and moved into the heart of the London and Canterbury silk industry. Luckily they were accepted by the Weavers’ Guild. Most of the most famous designers working for the Spitalfields silk industry in the C18th were of Huguenot origin. Even 175 years later there were still 46 silk weaving workshops in Spitalfields.
Student
ReplyDeleteThe Huguenots were truly expert silk weavers, making beautiful dresses, shirts and trimmings.
But then the Huguenots in France must have been talented in most of the professions, arts and crafts they specialised in. Gold and silver smithing, of course, plus textiles, medicine, science and ceramics etc. As long as they could be safe in their Protestantism, they brought their career skills and entrepreneurial talents with them.
I'm not fond of silver and of silver made items, but the French Huguenots have me intrigued by their many skills in arts, crafts, textiles (silk weavers).
ReplyDeleteDUTA
ReplyDeleteThe 1 million Huguenots might have only accounted for 10% of the French population before 1685. But they were concentrated in limited regions which they tended to dominate - La Rochelle, Normandy and Poitou; in the south, Montpellier and Nîmes were Huguenot centres. So they had their own schools, churches, guilds, industries etc where each generation could specialise and develop expertise. And I suspect they had very ambitious parents :)
Awesome Article! I would like to thank you for the efforts you had made for writing this awesome article. This article inspired me to read more.
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Elegante
ReplyDeleteStart by reading the Huguenot Legacy from 1680, by Harrop. You will enjoy the book.
I have quite strong Huguenot ancestry but as furriers, not jewellers. The coffee pot would certainly be a conversation piece at any table.
ReplyDeleteAndrew
ReplyDeleteI had no idea about your link to the Huguenots....you should be proud of those talented members of a very religiously and professionally supportive community.
Today you may have relatives wherever the Huguenots emigrated to Protestant states back then eg Britain of course, but also Netherlands, South Africa, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland.
My GGGGGGgrandfather on my mums side was a Huguenot who settled in Dublin . He was in the leather business though . It was about as stupid as Brexit , for the French to do this to the Huguenots . They lost so many very skilled people to their enemies the English !!
ReplyDeletemem
ReplyDeleteFrance's King Louis XIV were indeed counter productive expelling the nation's most skilled, ambitious and loyal citizens but the refugees went anywhere that would take Protestants:
50,000 fled to England, about 10,000 of them moving on to Ireland
45,000 went to Switzerland by the end of the century, especially Geneva.
50,000 French Protestants fled to German States, especially Brandenburg
35,000 Huguenots settled in the Dutch Republic
1000 relocated to and settled at the Cape of Good Hope