About the Artwork
The third duke of Cadaval of Portugal ordered this nineteen-piece toilet service for the French princess Henriette of Lorraine on the occasion of their marriage in 1739. The only complete French toilet set to survive from the first half of the eighteenth century, it includes a mirror, ewer and basin, candlesticks, jewel boxes, clothes brush, and pin cushion, among other articles.
The royal silversmith Thomas Germain (1673–1748) may have designed this elegant toilet set, actually fabricated by four lesser-known Parisian silversmiths. Commissioned by one of the most important lords of Portugal, the set represents the quality and luxury of the toilet services made for the French court during the first half of the eighteenth century and later melted down or dispersed.
Candle Snuffer with Tray
between 1738 and 1739
Etienne Pollet (Maker) French, active 1715 - 1751 Sebastien Igonet (Maker) French, active 1725 - 1766 or later
Silver
Overall: 2 3/8 × 8 3/4 × 4 7/8 inches (6 × 22.2 × 12.4 cm) Overall (candle snuffer): 7 1/4 × 2 7/16 × 1 3/8 inches (18.4 × 6.2 × 3.5 cm) Overall (tray): 2 1/8 × 8 3/4 × 4 7/8 inches (5.4 × 22.2 × 12.4 cm)
Silver
European Sculpture and Dec Arts
Founders Society Purchase, Elizabeth Parke Firestone Collection of Early French Silver Fund
53.188
Public Domain
Markings
Mark, engraved on tray, center: [coats of arms of the Dukes of Cadaval and Lorraine] Marks, inside snuffer: [various marks including crowned Y]
Provenance
ca. 1738, probably commissioned by Jaime de Mello, 3rd Duke of Cadaval, or by Louis of Lorraine, prince de Lambesc;May 1739, Henriette-Julie-Gabrielle de Lorraine, Duchesse de Cadaval [1724-1761];
by descent to the family of the Dukes of Cadaval (Lisbon, Portugal);
1931, sold by 9th Duke of Cadaval;
1931, acquired by (Jacques Helft, Paris, France);
1952, Elizabeth and Harvey Firestone, Jr.;
1953-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
For more information on provenance, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Suggest FeedbackPublished References
Bulletin of the DIA 33, no. 1 (1953-54): p. 12.
Art Quarterly (Autumn 1953): p. 239.
French, English and American Silver. Exh. cat., Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Minneapolis, 1956, no. 37.
Fregnac, C., ed. Les grands orfèvres de Louis XII à Charles X, Collection Connaissance des Arts, Series: Grands Artisans d'autrefois, Paris: Librarie Hachette et Societe d'etudes et de Publications Economiques. 1965, p. 136, 137 (ill.).
Davis, F. French Silver 1450-1825. New York and Washington, 1970, p. 28 (fig. 44).
Hellman, M. "Enchanted Night: Decoration, Sociability, and Visuality after Dark." Paris: Life & Luxury in the Eighteenth Century, ed. C. Bremer-David. Los Angeles, 2011, p. 103, fig. 61 (ill.).
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Sebastien Igonet; Etienne Pollet, Candle Snuffer with Tray, between 1738 and 1739, silver. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Elizabeth Parke Firestone Collection of Early French Silver Fund, 53.188.
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