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Ewer and basin: M.468 & A-1985

An image of Ewer

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Object information

Current Location: Gallery 26 (Lower Marlay)

Titles

Ewer and basin

Maker(s)

Silversmith: Unknown (Probably)

Entities

Categories

Description

Silver; embossed, chased and matted, and decorated with acanthus leaves and putti amid scrolling foliage

Silver; with embossed and chased decoration, and matted and plain surfaces. Helmet-shaped ewer on a short stem and oval foot, with projecting covered spout, the cover perforated at the end; cast harp-shaped handle; and covex cover with a raised circle in the centre and a cast 'turned' finial. The body of is decorated below the rim with a frieze of putti amid scrolling foliage separated by a filet from a calyx of acanthus leaves growing upwards from the junction with the stem which has a gadrooned 'frill' half way up. The spout is wrapped in acanthus foliage, and there is a leaf extending downwards from the top of the handle. The foot has a border of scrolling foliage, and the cover has acanthus foliage radiating from the raised centre. (A) Oval basin with applied reeded edge, wide rim, and shallow oval well. It has a plain centre, and on the rim, four putti amid scrolling foliage with a matted ground.

Notes

History note: Sir William Lockhart of Lee (1621-1675); by descent to an anonymous lender in 1977 from whom purchased

Legal notes

Purchased with the Golland and Rylands Funds with a grant from the B.N. Stuart Bequest to the National Art Collections Fund and Grand-in-Aid from the Regional Fund of the Museums and Galleries Commission

Place(s) associated

  • Paris ⪼ France

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bought (1985-10-21) by Anonymous

Dating

17th Century, third quarter#
Louis XIV (1638-1715)
Circa 1656 CE - Circa 1660 CE

Note

The putti among foliage may have been derived from engraved designs by Jean Lepautre (1618-82). The ewer and basin are unmarked but are most likely to have been made in Paris.

School or Style

Baroque

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Ewer - To Finial Top Height 21 cm Height 8¼ in
Basin Length 41.5 cm Length 16⅜ in Width 30.2 cm Width 11⅞ in
Ewer - Whole Weight 880 g Weight 28:5 oz:dwt
Basin - Whole Weight 923 g Weight 29:13 oz:dwt
Decoration
Finial
Handle

Materials used in production

Silver

Techniques used in production

Raised (metal forming process) : Silver, raised, embossed, chased, and matted, with cast handle and finial

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: M.468 & A-1985
Primary reference Number: 118340
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Friday 11 November 2022 Last processed: Friday 8 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Ewer and basin" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/118340 Accessed: 2024-04-23 15:44:51

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/118340 |title=Ewer and basin |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-04-23 15:44:51|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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