Olive Spoon, Silver By Louis Legros, Paris, 1728-1729

- Olive spoon
- Hammered silver, pierced
- By Louis Legros, master goldsmith in Paris from 1723 to 1736, sentenced to hanging in effigy for making false hallmarks.
- Paris, 1728-1729
- Length: 29.3cm, width: 5.5cm; Weight: 160g
- Very good condition, coat of arms formerly and skillfully degraved

- Large olive spoon, with double threads on the spatula and single thread on the stem, the oval spoon with pierced delimited by a chain of shuttles which frames a complex decoration around 'a central bouquet with windings of tulips, tears and volutes. The attachment on the spoon is marked by a thick thread with a rounded relief extending onto the stem, splitting onto the ribbed and slightly curved spatula.
- A strictly identical model, which can form a pair with this spoon, the coat of arms not defaced, is kept at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris (Inv. 30000B, Reubell donation) [3, n°142 p.98].

- Hallmarks (on the stem): master goldsmith: LLG with crowned fleur-de-lys, for Louis Legros [2 T.III p.86]; jurande: M surmounted by a crown, Paris from August 12, 1728 to August 26, 1729 [1, n°363]; charge: A with crown on the side for silver works, Paris from December 1, 1726 to October 15, 1732 [1, n°354]; discharge: a crowned merlette, for medium-sized silver works, Paris from October 1, 1726 to October 15, 1732 [1, n°358].
-  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.