Silver Oval Dish With The Arms Perrochel-fontenay, Thomas Germain, Paris, 1747-1748

-  An oval dish
-  French Sterling Silver
-  By Thomas Germain, « Sculpteur Orfèvre du Roi » (master from 1720 to 1748 )
-  Paris, 1747-1748
-  Weight: 750g
-  Dimensions : diam (basis): 14cm, height: 24cm
-  Provenance: Perrochel-Fontenay families for Pierre de Perrochel, lord of Granchamp (1704-1752)

-  A small oval dish with the coat of arms of alliance engraved, flanked by two lions, surmounted by a marquis crown: on the sinister, argent with two sable leopard lions one on the other, armed, langued and crowned gules, for the Fontenay family; on the dexter, azure with two crescents in chief and a star in base, all gold, for the Perrochel family. For Pierre de Perrochel, lord of Granchamp, Morainville, Vetor, Thoiré, Thoigné (1704-1752) married on July 30, 1733 to Louise Françoise Elisabeth de Fontenay (1712- ?).

-  More than a goldsmith, Thomas Germain, sculptor, architect, worked all his life for the king Louis XV, the court, foreign courts and the great of these kingdoms. Few works remain, but they reflect the talent of this artist whose refinement and balance compete with power. If nothing remains of the French royal orders, a few pieces are preserved including elements of the platework of the service of the court of Denmark ordered in 1738.
-  Hallmarks: charge (under the border) : A crowned, Paris, 1^st october 1744 to 1^st october 1750 ([BP], n°394) ; silversmith (under the border) : T, G with golden fleece under crown, second mark of Thomas Germain from  august,4, 1733 to his death ([Louvre], n°133 p.205) ; warden’s mark (under the border) : G crowned, Paris to 14 october 1747 to 13 august 1748 ([BP], n°406) ; discharge (on the border) : a running greyhound for the large silver works, Paris to 1^st october 1744 to 1^st octobre 1750 ([BP], n°396).

-  Ref. : [BP] Bimbenet-Privat, Michèle & de Fontaine, Gabriel : « La datation de l’orfèvrerie parisienne sous l’ancien régime », Paris Musées, 1995 ; [Louvre] Bimbenet-Privat, Michèle ; Doux, Florian & Gougeon, Catherine : « Orfèvrerie de la Renaissance et des temps modernes – La collection du Musée du Louvre », éditions Faton & Louvre éditions, Paris, 2023 ; [Mabille] Mabille, Gérard & Villumsen Krog, Ole : « La table d’un roi - L’orfèvrerie du XVIII^e à la Cour de Danemark », exposition du 18 novembre – 31 janvier 1988, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 1987 ; [Sotheby’s] Vente Sotheby’s : « Importante orfèvrerie provenant de la Collection Arturo Lopez-Willshaw  », Monaco, 20 juin 1992 

Working paper avaliable