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Castor
France (Dunkirk)
about 1741
Object Place: Europe, Dunkerque, France
Medium/Technique
Metal; silver
Dimensions
Overall: 15 cm (5 7/8 in.)
Other (Overall): 6.3cm (2 1/2in.)
Weight: 190 gm (6.7 oz.)
Other (Overall): 6.3cm (2 1/2in.)
Weight: 190 gm (6.7 oz.)
Credit Line
Elizabeth Parke Firestone and Harvey S. Firestone, Jr. Collection
Accession Number1993.372.1a-b
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsSilver
DescriptionOne of a pair of vase shaped castors on a spreading circular foot with a gadrooned band. The base of the body is applied with strapwork on a spirally mattedground. The upper part of the body is engraved with lambrequins beneath a mol ded rim. The cover has a gadrooned rim and is pierced in a lattice work pattern with engraved rosettes at the intersections of the piercing and the reserves. The finial is bud shaped above an applied gadrooned(?) cap.
Marks
Maker's Mark: a crowned PE with a device (Helft, 469). Maison Commune: Dunkerque, c.1741: a crowned I (Helft, 469). Town Markof Dunkerque, c.1730-1760: a crowned dolphin (Helft, 469). All marks are in the interior of the body and the cover.
ProvenanceOctober 14-21, 1952, sale, Frederik Muller, Amsterdam, lot 996. May 8, 1954, sold by Au Vieux Paris (gallery), Paris, to Elizabeth Parke Firestone (b. 1897- d. 1990) and Harvey S. Firestone, Jr. (b. 1898 - d. 1973), Akron, OH and Newport, RI; 1993, gift of the estate of Elizabeth Parke Firestone and Harvey S. Firestone, Jr. to the MFA. (Accession Date: May 26, 1993)