Liège 1771, Louis XV Sweetmeat Dish, Solid Silver, André-clement Dupont

A very elegant Louis XV period Liège bonbonnière in solid silver. It dates from 1771, the last year of the reign of Prince-Bishop Charles d'Oultremont. It features four cabriole feet and a scalloped bowl with a central rosette. The quality of the design is well above average. One of the feet was reinforced, as early as the eighteenth century. There are no fewer than six hallmarks on the base of the bowl and a zigzag mark from the assayer's test of the silver alloy before hallmarking. It features the hallmark with the arms of the reigning prince-bishop, the 1764 hallmark surmounted by the double-headed eagle of the Holy Roman Empire (the year of the beginning of his reign), the letter H for the year 1771, the hallmark of master goldsmith André Clement Dupont and finally two guarantee hallmarks of the French occupier dating from 1809-1814. It weighs 252 grams.