Miniature waiter
1739/40
Medium
Silver
Dimensions
Overall: 1 5/16 × 3 3/8 in. (3.3 × 8.6 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Silver-Miniature
Culture
British, London
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Joseph M. and Aimee Loeb May Collection, 1963
Accession Number
63.53.5
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, *Miniature Waiter* is a delightful silver figurine crafted by London silversmith John Le in 1739/40. Measuring just 1 5/16 × 3 /8 inches (3.3 × 8.6 cm), this tiny masterpiece exemplifies the exquisite miniaturization prized in 18th-century British metalwork. Le Sage, active in London's thriving silver trade, hallmarks his work with the lion passant and maker's mark, attesting to its authenticity from the George II era. In the opulent world of Georgian England, such miniature silver objects were coveted novelti...