Sterling Silver Coffee Pot 

Made in London 

Made in 1758

Made by Samuel Courtauld  

An important coffee jug, in very good or museum condition. Demonstrating Samuel Courtauld's wonderful comprehension of the classical form, and his excited indulgence of the new rococo fashion. A wonderful design and baluster form. Gadrooned under the waist and replicated in the lid. The gadrooned fingers an exciting progression from the more predictable pure classic and demonstrating Courtauld's influence and importance in the rococo period. Embossed with majestic scrolls the sense of the jug gives a feeling of wealth and permanence. The walnut handle runs into the body in a classic duck bill scroll on the lower and a splendid classic demonstration of balance between classical weight and rococo fluidity. 

A similar coffee pot made by Samuel Courtauld was presented to Empress Catherine 2nd of Russia in 1762, this one dated as made in 1757 and also twenty seven centimetres in height. This pot is currently housed in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia having been moved there from the Armoury Chamber in 1922. Catherine's main interests were in education and culture. She read widely and corresponded with many of the prominent thinkers of the era, including Voltaire and Diderot. She was a patron of the arts, literature and education and acquired an art collection which now forms the basis of the Hermitage Museum. The collection includes another Samuel Courtauld piece. 

The very well engraved arms are those of Glover of Norwoods in Cudham Kent, of South Creake, Norfolk and Tatsfield, Surrey

The Courtauld Silver..J F Hayward Published 1975;  page 25 Freed from the tyranny of symmetry and classical proportion, able to express their individuality in the choice and composition of ornament, the goldsmiths of the mid-eighteenth century were limited only by the resources of their imagination and by the intrinsic qualities of the precious metal they used. Samuel did, however,(Augustine was extremely unsympathetic to the new fashion of Rococo, his demise Samuel found as aesthetically liberating) inherit his father's appreciation of the metal he used and some of his vessels, such as the coffee pot of 1760 (Plate 29). Samuel Courtauld seems to have achieved much the same status as his father in the London trade.    

The son of Augustine Courtauld, Samuel, was apprenticed to his father in 1734, at the age of 14. On completing his apprenticeship he continued to work in his father’s shop in Chandos Street until his father’s death in 1751, when he moved to 21 Cornhill. Silver work made by this Samuel is mostly marked with his initials SC with a pellet between and a rising sun above, but he did use another mark — his initials and the pellet but without the rising sun; the latter, however, is rare.

He issued two trade cards, the first of which describes him as. “Goldsmith and Jeweller at the Rising Sun Shandos Street, St. Martin’s Lane, London” and a more elaborate card after he moved to Corn-hill, giving his address as “At the Crown in Cornhill Facing the Royal Exchange, London.” Much of his work shows the influence derived from his father in the simplicity of its design and in the splendid workmanship but while the latter is characteristic of all the pieces bearing the mark of Samuel the elder, he later developed a tendency toward more exuberant rococo forms of ornamentation. This later tendency became increasingly apparent as his years advanced. The pyriform kettle and stand of 1755-6 (fig. 6) shows subdued rococo forms in the finely chased flowers and scrolls on the shoulder of the kettle and in other motifs but another two-handled cup of five years later already displays all the exuberance the rococo style developed in England, an exuberance which became so popular that it was adopted by most of the London craftsmen with the result that many a fine design was lost beneath a mass of scrolls, shells, floral swags and other ornamental forms. The Courtaulds were the longest-lived dynasty of Huguenot master goldsmiths in eighteenth-century England. Samuel was apprenticed to his father, Augustine, from 1734 to 1741. He entered his own mark in 1746. In 1751 the firm moved from Chandos Street, near St. Martin's Lane, to  21 Cornhill, facing the Royal Exchange.  Samuel Courtauld was elected to the livery of the Goldsmiths' Company in 1763.  He was succeeded by his widow, Louisa, who entered into partnership in or before 1772 with George Cowles. The Courtauld family are a leading family in England. They are associated primarily with business, politics and the arts. By faith, they were originally Huguenots. 

The Important museums of the world have his work on display to include; The Hermitage Museum St Petersburg Russia ..Coffee Pot 1757, The Victoria and Albert Museum London..Chocolate Pot 1750, Ashmolean Museum Oxford Inkstand 1749 etc etc 

Courtauld Gallery London..The Courtauld’s collection of 18th  century silver is comprised of pieces designed and made by three generations of Courtauld silversmiths. They were the ancestors of Samuel Courtauld, one of the founders of The Courtauld Institute of Art.

In the books; A Century of silver. The Courtauld Family of silver smiths.. Important Gold and Silver  Christies 2004 ..Important Silver Christies 1997. Etc etc


  Condition: The Jug:  Very Good Condition.  Museum Quality. 

The Marks:  Well Struck.

Hallmarks:

Height:   Eleven inches   27.cms

Weight:  24 ounces   780 grams

Postage:  Free delivery to UK Mainland 

Next day courier service £10.00

International signed for delivery 15.00

We will combine postage for multiple purchases.

Our preferred method of payment is by bank transfer or paypal but we are happy to accept cheques made payable to "Ingrams", Postal orders and credit card by calling 01798 873796 our office is open 9.30am - 4.30 pm Monday to Friday

Please do not hesitate to contact me for any further information at h-bateman@hotmail.co.uk

Thanks for looking!

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