Pewter Dedicatory Pitcher. Cambrai? Early 19th Century.

Piriform body with short molded false foot. Added pour spout, with sides and double drops. Raised lid with flat roof, ogee wall. 5-rib shell thumb. Double knuckle hinge. On the exterior bottom, control mark: crowned rose with 6 petals. On the cover: JB DETAPE ROI DES ARCHETS (sic) 1840. The confusion between ARCHETS and ARCHERS is not a simple spelling error, but the phonetic confusion between the acute é and the grave è widely spread among speakers of many French provinces, including North Picardy in particular. Thus CALAIS is pronounced calé, DOUAI /doué, LAIT/lé… Already MOLIÈRE, in 1672, in “Les Femmes Savantes” made fun of the servant MARTINE who pronounced the word grammar like grandmother. But who knows, if Mr. DETAPE, eager to bend his bowstring, did not have another hidden talent, that of making the strings of a violin (INGRES?) vibrate with a bow? Height at the flat of the lid: 25 cm. Light gray, silky patina. Period: Early 19th century. Very good condition. Free shipping by COLISSIMO for mainland France.