A GEORGE III STERLING SILVER CAKE BASKET- RARE HUGUENOT MAKER: JOHN LAUTIER

Description

A GEORGE III STERLING SILVER CAKE BASKET- RARE HUGUENOT MAKER: JOHN LAUTIER
PRESENTED IS A QUALITY GEORGE III STERLING SILVER SWING HANDLE CAKE BASKET CREATED BY THE SELDOM-ENCOUNTERED LONDON MAKER JOHN LAUTIER IN 1773;
JOHN (JEAN-LOUIS) LAUTIR WAS BORN IN BERLIN. HIS HUGUENOT FATHER, JEAN PIERRE LAUTIER, FROM LA BEAUME IN THE THE DAUPHINE PROVINCE, AND HIS MOTHER, MARGUERITE DEVILLE, FROM ORANGE, ALSO A HUGUENOT, HAD FLED FRANCE AS CHILDREN WITH THEIR PARENTS IN THE LATE 1600s.;
THE DESTINATION OF CHOICE FOR BOTH THE LAUTIER AND DEVILLE FAMILIES WAS BERLIN WHERE A CLOSE-KNIT COMMUNITY OF THE FRENCH REFUGEES WAS TAKING SHAPE. IT WAS THERE WHEN A YOUNG JEAN PIERRE AND MARGUERITE MET AND MARRIED IN 1723;
BY 1740, WHEN JEAN-LOUIS WAS BORN, HIS FATHER HAD ESTABLISHED ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS TRADING HOUSES IN BERLIN AND LATER FORMED A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE JORDAN BROTHERS;
THE FIRM FRERES JODAN ET LAUTIER WERE APPOINTED AS THE JEWELERS TO THE IMPERIAL COURT OF FREDERICK THE GREAT IN THE 1740s. IT WAS, MOST PROBABLY, IN THIS CAPACITY THAT FATHER LAUTIER FORGED CONNECTIONS WITH MEMBERS OF THE PANTIN FAMILY-- THE FAMOUS LONDON-BASED HUGUENOT SILVER MAKERS;
LAUTIER, THE FATHER, DIED IN 1746; AND FROM THE MID 1750s THROUGH MID 1760s THE YOUNG LAUTIER WORKED IN HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS;
JEAN LAUTIER, THEN, MOVED TO LONDON WHERE HE WAS WARMLY RECEIVED BY LEWIS PANTIN-- WHOSE DAUGHTER, ANN, HE MARRIED IN 1767;
JEAN LOUIS LAUTIER WAS NATURALIZED BY THE ENGLISH PARLIAMENT IN 1772 AFTER WHICH HE BECAME KNOWN AS JOHN LEWIS LAUTIER;
JOHN LAUTIER ENTERED HIS MARK IN 1773 AS A GOLD-WORKER WITH WORKPLACE REGISTERED AT 20 FLEET STREET. THE INDEX OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE "HUGUENOT SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND" REFERS TO HIM AS "JEAN LAUTIER: GOLD WORKER, ENGRAVER, AND ENAMELER". THESE TWO FACTS SUGGEST THAT HE WAS ALREADY AN ESTABLISHED GOLD-WORKER BEFORE HIS ARRIVAL IN LONDON GIVEN THAT ONE OF THE MOST ACCLAIMED PRODUCTS AT "FRERES JORDAN ET LAUTIR" WAS THE PARTNERSHIP'S LINE OF ENAMELED GOLD BOXES;
NOT MANY OF HIS WORKS HAVE BEEN OFFERED ON THE MARKET AND THE ONLY EXAMPLE WE KNOW OF IS A DISH CROSS AT THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM IN LONDON;
TRUE TO MOST HUGUENOTS' TREATMENT OF BASKETS--IN LIEU OF THE COMMON CRISS-CROSSED PIERCING APPLIED WITH SWAGS AND/OR FLORAL WORK- LAUTIER OPTED FOR A SIMPLE, YET MORE GRACEFUL, DESIGN FOR THIS EXAMPLE;
THE SIDES ARE OF VERTICALLY CONJOINED SAW-CUT SLATS. THE GADROON-EDGED FOOT IS PIERCED WITH SLATS. THE HANDLE, ALSO GADROON-EDGED, PIERCED WITH LOZENGE. THE CENTER IS ENGRAVED WITH THE COAT OF ARMS OF THE WATKINS FAMILY OF HEREFORD, AND THE SAME FAMILY'S CREST IS ENGRAVED ON TOP OF THE HANDLE;
EXCELLENT CONDITION SAVE FOR SOME SOFT LINES AND IMPRESSIONS TO THE FIELD, NO BREAKS, OR REPAIRS;
14" WIDE BY 11 1/14" DEEP, 11 1/2" HIGH;
WEIGHT: 28 3/4 STANDARD OUNCES
(816 grams)
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