About this artwork
This double salt is part of a vast service made for Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s sister Pauline on the occasion of her marriage to the Roman nobleman Camillo Borghese, Sixth Prince of Sulmona.
In the years after the French Revolution, architects and designers adopted the visual language of ancient Greece and Rome to express the new imperial order. Napoleon, hoping to promote Paris’s luxury trades, commissioned several silver dinner services as gifts to be sent abroad. The slender outlines and smooth surfaces of the vessels in the Borghese service contrast with the rich decoration.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Applied Arts of Europe
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Artist
- Martin-Guillaume Biennais
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Title
- Double Salt (one of a pair)
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Place
- Paris (Object made in)
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Date
- 1794–1819
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Medium
- Gilt silver
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Inscriptions
- MARKS: “[lozenge with seated monkey and two pellets above B, maker’s mark] / [male head in circular punch flanked by 5 and 8, Paris excise mark 1798-1809],” on apron of circular rims holding salt dishes (both marks partially defaced), underside of plinth at proper left side, on outer surface of bottom of bowl (maker’s mark only), on upper body of outside of bowl (excise mark only); “[Roman fasces, Paris assay mark 1798-1809],” on outside edge and reverse of square plinth; “[ear form punch, Paris recense mark 1809-19],” on front lower edge of plinth; “[cock in vertical octagonal shield with 1 at lower right, Paris assay mark 1798-1809],” on underside of plinth at proper right and on upper body of outside of bowl; “[head of Apollo with 1 in oval shield, unofficial Paris assay mark 1794-97],” on outer surface of bottom of bowl (mark partially defaced) INSCRIPTIONS: “[Borghese armorials surmounted with Napoleonic Crown],” engraved on center of base; “1511 24 A [repairer’s number or inventory number],” scratched on outer surface of bottom of bowl
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Dimensions
- 22.3 × 20.7 × 9.6 cm (8 3/4 × 8 1/8 × 3 3/4 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of Mrs. Charles V. Hickox
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Reference Number
- 1966.111.1a-c
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/25158/manifest.json