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Écuelle

 (Dutch, 1688–1751)
Date1739–40
MediumSilver gilt
Dimensions6 3/4 × 9 3/4 × 6 1/16 in. (17.1 × 24.8 × 15.4 cm)
Credit LineHenry Clay Frick Bequest
Accession number1916.7.02
Commentary

Decorated with vegetables, herbs, and a trussed red grouse on the finial, this two-handled shallow bowl, or écuelle, was probably intended for porridge, which is defined in a 1728 English dictionary as “a liquid Food of Herbes, Flesh, &c.” French in origin, écuelles are rare in English silver. This example was made in London by Paul de Lamerie, son of a French émigré and one of the greatest eighteenth-century English silversmiths. In de Lamerie’s obituary in the London Evening Post of August 6, 1751, he is described as “particu­larly famous in making fine ornamental Plate” and having been “very instrumental in bringing that Branch of Trade to the perfection it is now in.”

Source: Vignon, Charlotte. The Frick Collection Decorative Arts Handbook. New York: The Frick Collection/Scala, 2015.

Collection History

Duveen. Frick, 1916.

Source: Enamels, Rugs and Silver in The Frick Collection. Volume VIII. New York: The Frick Collection, 1977.

Not On View
Gilt silver ladle with intricately designed handle and bowl
Attributed to Paul de Lamerie
ca. 1739
Photograph of green armchair
White Allom Ltd., London
early 20th century
Photograph of a green armchair
After the English
early 20th century
Photograph of a green armchair
After the English
early 20th century
Photograph of table with round top
English, Eighteenth Century
18th century
Photograph of green armchair
White Allom Ltd., London
early 20th century
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