France, late 18th-early 19th Century / 1797–98
Covered Tureen on Stand (Pot à oille)
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Covered Tureen on Stand (Pot à oille) as silver (France, late 18th-early 19th Century · 1797–98).
The coat of arms on the body of the work corresponds to the family of Federico Carlos Gravina, a Sicilian-Spanish admiral who was known to have had a close diplomatic relationship with Napoleon I.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this silver as silver and credits Henry Auguste (French, 1759–1816).
The museum's collection notes: This pot-à-oille was designed by master goldsmith Henri Auguste after drawings by draftsman and sculptor Jean Guillaume Moitte. Though many of the neoclassical decorative elements on this piece are pulled from Moitte’s design, Auguste’s final product leaves out much of the proposed ornamentation. Instead this object finds distinction in its large size and smooth expanses of silver that emphasize the purity of its lines.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtCovered Tureen on Stand (Pot à oille)Original explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.