Description
Shell bowl (probably Tutufa bubo) mounted in vermeil, resting on a plain circular base, extended along the body of the shell by lanceolate water leaves and chiseled amaties. The interior of the shell is lined with vermeil following the contours of the shell. The handle, with scrolls, is decorated with an acanthus leaf. Master goldsmith Joseph BOUILLEROT, received in 1759. Paris, 1787-1788. Height : 8,7 cm - Length : 13,5 cm - Gross weight : 189,2 g Shells with silver and vermeil mounts, most frequently with Augsburg or Nuremberg hallmarks, were very successful in the 17th century and adorned the most important curiosity cabinets of the time. However, this type of object was less common in the 18th century, especially in Paris. The shell presented here is a very singular example and we owe its conception, perhaps, to the impulse of a merchant. Seashell collections were very fashionable in the 18th century, leading cabinetmakers to create specific furniture adapted to the presentation of these particularly sought-after pieces of natural history. The choice of a dealer to add a gilt frame to the shells is in line with this logic, thus turning a natural element into a precious object. (Concerning the importance of shell collections in France in the 17th and 18th centuries, see A. SCHNAPPER, Le géant, la licorne et la tulipe, 1988).
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Shell bowl (probably Tutufa bubo) mounted in vermeil, resting on a plain circular base, extended along the body of the shell by lanceolate water leaves and chiseled amaties. The interior of the shell is lined with vermeil following the contours of the shell. The handle, with scrolls, is decorated with an acanthus leaf. Master goldsmith Joseph BOUILLEROT, received in 1759. Paris, 1787-1788. Height : 8,7 cm - Length : 13,5 cm - Gross weight : 189,2 g Shells with silver and vermeil mounts, most frequently with Augsburg or Nuremberg hallmarks, were very successful in the 17th century and adorned the most important curiosity cabinets of the time. However, this type of object was less common in the 18th century, especially in Paris. The shell presented here is a very singular example and we owe its conception, perhaps, to the impulse of a merchant. Seashell collections were very fashionable in the 18th century, leading cabinetmakers to create specific furniture adapted to the presentation of these particularly sought-after pieces of natural history. The choice of a dealer to add a gilt frame to the shells is in line with this logic, thus turning a natural element into a precious object. (Concerning the importance of shell collections in France in the 17th and 18th centuries, see A. SCHNAPPER, Le géant, la licorne et la tulipe, 1988).
