Cruet Louis XVI, 1789, Paris, Denis Franckson

Sumptuous oil cruet from the Louis XVI period in sterling silver. For the shape of this piece, the very talented goldsmith Dénis Franckson was inspired by the famous "table naves" of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Other goldsmiths will also be inspired by it at the end of the eighteenth century, among them, the great goldsmith Henri Auguste who will manufacture a good decade later, the famous "Emperor's nave" for Napoleon I, today kept at the Château de Fontainebleau. The two elegant carafes in colorless and blue crystal are enthroned in their perforated silver baskets engraved in the center of a large ship-shaped cruet. The set is very delicately engraved with garlands of laurel leaves. The carafes are intact but are more recent than the oil cooler. The empty frame weighs 1115 grams.