Mustard Pot In Gilt Silver With Two Golds, Silver By Gabriel, Paris, 1774-1775

- Mustard pot
- Hammered and molten silver, gilded in two yellow and pink golds
- By Louis-Emmanuel Gabriel, master goldsmith in Paris from 1773 to 1783
- Paris, 1774-1775
- Length: 20cm, width: 11.2cm, height: 8cm long ; Weight: 216g
- Very good condition, some wear to the gilding on the edges, modern glassware
- Provenance: Christie's sale

- Supported by four acanthus legs, the tray is oval with two scrolled grips and acanthus, the edges of the top are lined with 'an amati frieze. The center with its radiant decoration of alternating channels of small matted channels, all on a matted background. The tray supports a basket with screw-mounted cork holder. Each element alternates yellow gold and pink gold gilding: exterior moldings, channels, acanthus, ogee on the top...

- Gabriel was a goldsmith in 1773, he was a journeyman in the workshops of François-Thomas Germain, Haudry, Jean-Baptiste Chéret and Robert-Joseph Auguste. The quality of the gilding and amati as well as the construction of the piece show a certain talent, and stands out from current production. The gilding work is similar to that carried out by specialized gilding workshops. A mustard pot from this goldsmith is kept in the collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris ([3] n°103, p.72)

-  Hallmarks (under the basket, under the tray): charge: A crowned, charge for large works, Paris from November 18, 1774 to July 13, 1780 [BP, n°486]; jurande: L crowned, from July 16, 1774 to July 15, 1775 [BP n°497]; discharge (at the edge of the tray and the basket): difficult to read; master goldsmith: LEG with a crescent for Louis-Emmanuel Gabriel [2, T.II p.201].

-  Ref. : [1] Bimbenet-Privat & Fontaines : "La datation de l’orfèvrerie parisienne sous l’ancien régime", Paris musées, 1995 ; [2] Nocq, Henri : "Répertoire des maîtres-orfèvres de la juridiction de Paris depuis le moyen âge jusqu'à la fin du dix-huitième siècle", 5 Tomes, 1926 ; [3] Mabille, Gérard : "Orfèvrerie française des XVIe, XVIIe, XVIIIe siècles…", Flammarion, 1993.