Empire-style Sauceboat Decorated With Swan Figures, Paris, Ca. 1830

Dimensions: 21.3 × 34 × 11.8 cm
Weight: 1,111 g

Hallmarked with hallmarks in use in Paris between 1819 and 1838: the hallmark featuring Michelangelo’s head accompanied by the number 1, indicating the first standard of silver, as well as the guarantee hallmarks, including the head of Ceres for large pieces and the boar’s head for small pieces.

The sauceboat rests on a rectangular base featuring four corner feet shaped like lion’s paws, flanked by leafy volutes. The base, divided into three sections, consists of two kymation friezes separated by a smooth band.

The sauceboat’s foot, oval in shape and raised, rests on a small, smooth plinth; its rim is encircled by a frieze of lanceolate laurel leaves. The surface of the base is smooth and tapers upward; at its narrowest point, it is adorned with a ring featuring a floral design framed by two fine rows of beads. Above this ring, the base widens again to form a socket designed to hold the bowl.

The bowl, hemispherical in shape, features a wide spout on one side and a raised handle on the other. The handle consists of two swan heads and necks, entirely modeled in the round, spreading symmetrically to the sides; where they join the bowl, a palmette motif appears. The rim of the bowl is accented with a knurled decoration similar to that of the foot.

The base bears an engraved coat-of-arms cartouche, surmounted by a count’s crown with nine pearls.