Centerpiece
19th century
Medium
Silver on base metal
Dimensions
Overall: 10 × 18 × 31 in. (25.4 × 45.7 × 78.7 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Electrotype
Culture
British, after British, London original
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1883
Accession Number
83.18.24a–rr
Art Historical Context
This elegant *Centerpiece* is a19th-century electrotype of an original London silver creation by Paul de Lamer, the renowned British Huguenot silversmith1688–1751). De Lamerie was a master of the Rococo style, crafting ornate tableware for the elite with intricate chasing, embossing, and mythological motifs that epitomized 18th-century luxury. Standing at an impressive 10 × 18 × 31 inches, this centerpiece would have graced grand dining tables, symbolizing wealth and refined taste. The medium—silver electroplated on base metal—highlights a pivotal 19th-century innovation: electrotyping, pione...
About the Artist
Paul de Lamerie · 1688–1751
Paul de Lamerie was born on April 9, 1688, in 's-Hertogenbosch in the Dutch Republic, the son of Paul Souchay de la Merie, a French Huguenot nobleman who had fled France following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 and subsequently served as an officer under William III of Orange. The family settled in London by 1691, and young Paul grew up in a community of skilled Huguenot craftsmen w...