Paris 1765-1775, Cooler, Silver-plated Copper, Huguet, Gournay, Daumy

Interesting small cylindrical cooler in silver-plated copper dating from the end of the Louis XV period. On its bottom are struck two extremely rare hallmarks. These are hallmarks for silver-plated metal from the Louis XV period. An impressive royal crown surmounting the letters Arg. above 1/8 and a 1/6. These hallmarks indicate the proportion of pure silver in the weight of the finished object. In this case 1/7 th. These hallmarks are the rare witnesses of a short period of the old regime during which several Parisian goldsmiths and manufacturers were interested in the original English technique of metal doubled with silver by pressure and heat. Several workshops were born from this research. Jean-Vincent Huguet will launch a production in the Hôtel de la Fère, a certain Daumy will produce pieces and finally a well-known Parisian goldsmith Alexis Micalef, will join forces with a bridge and road engineer Jean-Baptiste Gournay to manufacture a good number of objects like this one. Huguet stamped his production with a master's mark, this cooler probably does not come from his workshop. The Gournay workshop is more plausible. These hallmarks, which very closely resembled silver hallmarks, were strongly criticized by the goldsmiths' guild and disappeared quite quickly. It is therefore quite rare to find them on an object in good condition. The molding that goes around the edge is in solid silver.