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Simon Bourguet (c.1705–73, maître 1740)

Écuelle, cover and stand  1762-63

Silver gilt | 13.5 x 32 x 18.8 cm; stand 25.4 cm diameter (whole object) | RCIN 48397

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  • A silver-gilt écuelle with cover and stand. The stepped and domed cover has a finial in the form of a pomegranate and flowers, with a reeded ribbon-tied border. The plain circular porringer has two cartouche-shaped handles chased with scrolls. The stand has an undulating rim.

    Each piece engraved, NAPOLEON BONAPARTE / 18th JUNE 1815; cover struck with Paris assayer's mark, charge mark, and mark of Simon Bourguet; ecuelle struck on the underside of each handle with date mark of Paris (1762-3), Paris assayer's mark, and mark of Simon Bourguet; ecuelle struck on side with assayer's mark, discharge mark, and Paris mark (1762-3); scratch marks on base of ecuelle, 1174537cf and No 210/54-; stand struck on base with date mark of Paris (1762-3) and mark of Francois Joubert; each part engraved with ciphers, N and WF (the latter probably for William Frederick, 2nd Duke of Gloucester).
    Provenance

    The écuelle is thought to have belonged to Napoleon I and is believed to have been taken from his baggage train leaving the Battle of Waterloo. The 'WF' cipher probably refers to William Frederick, 2nd Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, nephew of George III. How the écuelle came into his possession is unknown; it is not mentioned in an 1831 inventory of his cousin, William IV so may have entered the Royal Collection after the Duke's death in 1834.

    These works are remarkably unlike most of the silver commissioned by Napoleon, for whom a distinctive imperial and neoclassical vocabularly of ornament was created by the designers Percier & Fontaine. They may therefore have been historic items kept in Bonaparte's collection for sentimental reasons, or - perhaps more likely - simply pieces captured from the French baggage train and opportunely marked as the personal property of Napoleon for re-sale.

    A spoon (RCIN 48389) is associated with the piece, although it carries an English hallmark. There are similar écuelles in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Wentworth Collection).

  • Medium and techniques

    Silver gilt

    Measurements

    13.5 x 32 x 18.8 cm; stand 25.4 cm diameter (whole object)

    1670 g (Weight) (whole object)

  • Bibliographic reference(s)

    EAJ : Jones, E.A., 1911. The Gold and Silver of Windsor Castle, Letchworth pl. XLVII

    Alternative title(s)

    Porringer, cover and stand

    Ecuelle, cover and stand

  • Place of Production

    Paris [Île-de-France]


The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Royal Collection Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.