Solid Silver Oil And Vinegar Cruet - René-pierre Ferrier - Louis XVI Period - Paris, 1781-1782

Solid silver oil and vinegar cruet
Goldsmith René-Pierre Ferrier (active in Paris from 1769 to 1793)
Paris, 1781-1782
The two glass cruets are 18th-century, with very worn gold decoration [one foot glued back]
The two antique silver stoppers are not hallmarked
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28 x 15 x 21.5 [W x D x H]
569 g net
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Handmarks
- René-Pierre Ferrier master hallmark (crowned fleur-de-lys, two grains, RPF, a rooster), inscribed in 1775 [Nocq II p. 167-168], on the reverse side of the basin and under the holders;
- Charge mark for large works (a large crowned A), Paris 1780-1782 [BP n°503], on the reverse of the basin;
- Charge mark for medium silver (a figure formed of two interlaced Ls), Paris 1780-1782 [BP n°504], under the holders;
- Jury hallmark in use from August 1, 1781 to July 13, 1782 (crowned letter S) [BP n°518], on the reverse of the basin and under the holders;
- Discharge mark for large silver items (A satyr's head), Paris 1780-1782 [BP n°505], on the obverse of the basin;
- Discharge hallmark for medium-sized silver works (Une tête d'Alexandre), Paris 1780-1782 [BP n°506], on the lower rim of the bar holders.

Later control marks with crab and, on the stoppers, mark ET (used at the beginning of the 20th century to mark low-title worksof antiquity, art or curiosity found in Monts de Piété orMonts de Piété or private sales)
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The basin bears a coat of arms engraved in the 19th century (one under a count's crown, the other under a marquis's crown), as well as an FG monogram on the side medallions under the cork rings.
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Bibliography
BP: Michèle Bimbenet-Privat and Gabriel de Fontaines, La datation de l'orfèvrerie parisienne sous l'Ancien Régime, Paris-Musées 1995
Nocq II: Henry Nocq,Le poinçon de Paris, Léonce Laget, Paris 1968, tome II