"Boullier Antoine Goldsmith, Paris 1781-1782, Coffee Or Tea Pot In Solid Silver"
Tripod tea or coffe pot in silver baluster shape with escutcheon fasteners. The hinged and doucine cover is molded with nets, it is embellished with a fruit catch on a terrace of radiant lanceolate leaves.Ebony handle.
Master silversmith, Antoine BOULLIER, received master in 1775.
Weight, 0.74 pounds (366 grams).
An almost identical model of the same goldsmith in the collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.
ANTOINE BOULLIER (1749-1835)
Born in Châteauroux on January 30, 1749, Antoine BOULLIER is the son of the goldsmith Joseph BOULLIER.
He learned the trade from his father as an apprentice from 1764, before settling in Paris three years later in order to complete his apprenticeship in the workshop of a Parisian master, while taking drawing lessons. and sculpture at the Free Royal School of Drawing. He also attended the painter VIEN’s workshop.
Antoine BOULLIER was awarded the Grand Prize of the École Royale Gratuite de Dessin in Paris in 1774 on December 16, 1775, with the support of the famous Edme-Pierre BALZAC and funding from the Duc de CHAROST.
Settled on the Place des Victoires, Antoine BOULLIER seems to have a relatively large production and supplies pieces for some of the most influential families of the aristocracy and the sovereigns of Europe. He bears the title of goldsmith of the Duc d'ORLEANS, receives orders from the Marquis de MARIGNY and the court of Saint Petersburg, is asked by Robert-Joseph AUGUSTE to make pieces of the sumptuous service ordered by King George III d 'England (1778-1780). In 1778, he executed a toiletry kit for Count POTOCKI and in 1783 provided the Russian court. In 1786 he delivered pieces to the future President of the United States Thomas JEFFERSON, who appreciated the clean and simple lines and the discreet ornamentation of BOULLIER pieces, very modern for the period, despite very high prices.
He partially retired from his profession in favor of his former assistant during the Revolution and became a farmer. He then took over the direction of his workshop at the beginning of the 19th century, participated in the creation of the tea service for Emperor NAPOLEON I in 1810 alongside Martin-Guillaume BIENNAIS, making the majestic tea fountain, but was not very active, even if he participated in the Exhibition of Industry Products in 1806, withdrawing definitively at the start of the Restoration.
His remarkably long career, from 1776 to 1818, provided first-rate information on the evolution of the neoclassical style in the French decorative arts. As with all the great goldsmiths of the Ancien Régime, its production ranges from simple to ornate, with an accomplished balance between ornament and forms.
Inherited from the teaching of the Free Royal School of Drawings, this style skillfully combines ancient inspiration, purity of form and choice of ornaments combining naturalism and antiquity, particularly for the years 1775-90. Another of its characteristics will be the quality of its remarkable carving, executed with almost mechanical precision.
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