368 - Pierre-Dominique MAIRE (c. 1763–1827)

Pierre-Dominique MAIRE (c. 1763–1827) Liqueur set consisting of four flasks with vermeil mounts and six goblets, all decorated with diamond-point motifs. Housed in a burl-veneer case. Brass moldings and corner reinforcements. Side handles recessed and concealed within a brass plate. The lid is adorned with a monogram within a coat-of-arms. The interior is lined with dark burgundy morocco leather, embossed with a small-scale foliage frieze. Vermeil bottle mounts decorated with a frieze of palmettes and a frieze of pearls. The goblets are housed in a removable cruciform display above the bottles. The compartments for the bottles and goblets are numbered. The interior of the lid bears a label reading: “MAIRE, 154 Rue Saint-Honoré, across from the Oratoire, Manufacturer of toiletries for the King, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Angoulême, and the Princes in Paris.” Functional auberon lock. With key. Hallmark: Bundle of lictors and axe (1809–1819). First third of the 19th century. Gross weight of weighable pieces: 2,825.31 g. (Two stoppers need to be reattached; chipping on the neck of one bottle; slight chipping at the base of the goblets; one brass molding is missing; and there are a few areas where the finish has peeled off) Note: Pierre Dominique MAIRE (c. 1763–1827), known as a “silverware merchant and manufacturer of travel sets,” was the direct competitor of Martin Guillaume Biennais, Napoleon’s silversmith, for this type of object. Maire worked with the silversmith Beaufort and the “silversmith-upholsterer” Blaquière.