  
  About the Artwork
  
  
  Silversmith to King Louis XV, Thomas Germain stands out among his contemporaries for the originality and quality of his exuberant rococo silver. His work exemplifies the earliest and most imaginative phase of the rococo style, marked by an abundance of extravagant curves and fantastic ornament. One of his masterpieces, this tureen is part of a large dinner service ordered by Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse (1678&acirc;&#128;&#147;1737) from 1727, and financed by his son, the duc de Penthi&Atilde;&uml;vre (1725&acirc;&#128;&#147;93). Called the "Boars' Head Tureen" after the animals' heads and forelegs at either end, this tureen is modeled with three-dimensional vegetables, crustaceans, and game, all cast from life for extraordinary naturalism. Surviving nearly complete, the service provides a rare glimpse into the splendor of the dining tables of the French court during the first half of the eighteenth century.
  
  
  Title
  Tureen with Lid, Liner, and Stand
  
  
  Artwork Date
  1733 or 1734
  
  Artist
  Thomas Germain
  
  
  
  Life Dates
  1673-1748
  
  
  
  
  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  French
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
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  Medium
  Silver
  
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall: 10  &Atilde;&#151; 21 1/2 &Atilde;&#151; 16 1/4 inches (25.4 &Atilde;&#151; 54.6 &Atilde;&#151; 41.3 cm)
  
  
  
  Classification
  Silver
  
  
  Department
  European Sculpture and Dec Arts
  
  
  Credit
  Founders Society Purchase, Elizabeth Parke Firestone Collection of Early French Silver Fund
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum&acirc;&#128;&#153;s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems&acirc;&#128;&#148;no longer assigned&acirc;&#128;&#148;that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  59.18
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
  
  
  
