Renaissance-style Amphitrite Ewer and Dish by Gueyton
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An impressive silver plate 'Amphitrite' ewer and dish, attributed to Alexandre Gueyton, Paris, third quarter 19th century, the ewer of classical form richly modelled all round in Renaissance revival manner with a representation of the story of Amphitrite, the associated circular dish of matching style, the ewer, 41 cm high, the dish, 34 cm diameter, Literature: a gilt bronze example of this ewer, signed 'A. Gueyton', was sold (accompanied by a dish different in design to the present dish) at Sotheby's Paris in 2014 ('Classique / Moderne Arts Decoratifs du XVIe au XIXe Siecle', 5 November, lot 71). The metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, holds an unsigned silver plate example of the ewer (accession no. 87.13.1).
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- Attributed - A cataloguing term where the item in the opinion of the cataloguers, is a of the period of the artist, craftsman or designer, and which probably in whole or part is the work of that person.
- Ewer / Pitcher - A type of jug with a narrow neck bulbous body and wide spout, originally used for carrying and storing liquids such as water or wine. In medieval times they were the source of water to wash ones hands during and after a meal. later the shape was used for vessels in silver, gold, glass and ceramics.
In Victorian times they were made in ceramics and occasionally glass with a matching basin, and sometimes other accessories such as a soap holder or toothbrush holder. Their purpose was to provide facilities for personal washing In the early 19th century were often enclosed in purpose built stands, and later resided on a washstand..
Sometimes the words "ewer" and "pitcher" are used interchangably, but a pitcher is generally considered to be a jug, and would have a wide mouth, and a gently tapering body. - Bronze - An alloy of copper and tin, traditionally in the proportions of about 9 parts of copper to 1 part of tin.
The discovery of bronze in Western Asia in the 4th century enabled people to create metal objects which were superior to those previoulsy possible because of its strength and hardness, and it has been used throughout the world for weapons, coins, tools, statuary and other decorative items.
It is very fluid in a molten state, and its hardness, strength when set, and non-corrosive properties makes it most suitable for casting sculpture.
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