Silver Miniature Coffee Maker, Masterpiece By Martial Fray In Paris Around 1850

Very small silver jug resting on a pedestal with four windings; the piriform body is segmented by eight ribs; the spout is covered and its body adorned with plant motifs; a hinged round cover covers the whole and its rim is provided with small windings with a four-sided gripping button; the ebony handle has a spout to hold the thumb and is fixed by two discs under the hinge of the cover. Exceptional realization by its size and its proportions of a coffee maker, in the second third of the XIX th century. Its author, MARTIAL FRAY, kept shop 22 rue pastourelle from August 22, 1849 until July 5, 1841; the warranty hallmarks (Minerva) are located on each element in addition to the master hallmark under the body; the number 447 is stamped and 143 engraved on the side as well as 3 striped marks (?). A masterpiece of dexterity, this reduction in goldsmith's vocation was, beyond the technical challenge, to display in the eyes of all, the legitimacy of the journeyman presence, faced with the dissensions of the journeymen and the irresistible triumph of machinery. Two small shocks and a crack in the handle are the visible defects (photos). Free shipping.