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ewer and dish

Description
The helmet-shaped ewer stands on a shaped circular foot chased with flowers, waves, and a lizard; the stem is modelled as a kneeling putto. The body of the ewer is chased with a figure of Neptune in a seascape and with scrolls, clouds, and personifications of the winds; a coat of arms is applied beneath the shaped lip. The handle is formed as a female demifigure rising from flowers and scrolls, holding a shell in her left hand. The large, shaped circular dish has a later applied coat of arms in the centre, and the border is chased in high relief with a broad band of ornament incorporating figures of Jupiter, Diana, and two putti, with elaborate surrounds of scrolls, masks, shells, and flowers. The underside of the ewer and the reverse of the dish are each engraved with two crests. The dish is also engraved with a later inscription, which reads,

This Dish and Ewer, two Cups Covers and linings, with three Castors, were purchased from the Mountrath Collection, 1881. ALso two Bread Baskets, and plain Cup and Cover.

Construction
The bowl of the ewer is raised and embossed, with cast and applied ornament in relief. The handle, foot, and stem are all cast. The dish is raised, with partly chased and partly cast and applied ornament on the border. The modern (1972) coat of arms is cast and screwed to the dish. Five other plugged screw holes indicate the position of the attachments for the original coat of arms.

Heraldry
The arms are those of Coote impaling Newport, for Algernon Coote, sixth earl of Mountrath (1689-1744), who married in 1721 Diana Newport, youngest daughter of Richard, second earl of Bradford. Mountrath was educated at St. Paul's School, London, and Trinity College, Cambridge. He succeeded to the earldom in 1720 on the death of his elder brother, Henry, who had in turn succeeded their eldest brother, Charles, in 1709. From 1724 to 1734 he was member of Parliament for Castle Rising, Norfolk, and from 1742 to 1744 represented Hedon in Yorkshire. Horace Walpole wrote of the countess of Mountrath that she was "as rich and as tipsy as Cacofogo in the comedy. What a jumble of avarice, lewdness, dignity,-and claret!" She died in 1766.

Commentary
The sixth earl of Mountrath was undoubtedly one of de Lamerie's most important clients during the late 1730s and early 1740s, for not only did he order a sizable quantity of plate from the goldsmith, but its character clearly indicates that he gave de Lamerie considerable freedom to produce designs in the fullest and most imaginative rococo taste.

The Mountrath ewer and dish are part of a small group of important and highly developed rococo pieces produced in the middle of de Lamerie's career, when his powers of inventiveness were at their zenith. The source of this imaginative and sculptural group of designs, to which the Gilbert Collection cup and cover of 1742 also belongs, is not known. These designs are hardly presented as random groupings of eclectic motifs, however; they are highly organized and unified, and there can be no doubt that they were the work of a skilled designer and modeler.

It is doubtful that de Lamerie himself was that modeler, since he seems to have displayed little aptitude or taste for such plastic handling of silver earlier in his career. In fact, this very sculptural quality is evident in his work only for about eight years, from 1737 to 1745. It is known that sculptors were working for goldsmiths in London. It would seem likely, therefore, that during this period a talented unidentified modeler associated with de Lamerie's workshop was responsible for these designs.

When the ewer and dish entered the Gilbert Collection the applied coat of arms in the center of the dish was missing. The present coat of arms is a modern reconstruction made in London in 1972 by the firm of William Comyns and Son, based on the original cartouche beneath the spout of rhe ewer.

Glossaries

ewer - a large pitcher or water jug
chase - to decorate a metal surface using a hammer and sharp tool
putti - a representation of a small child, often naked and having wings; plural, putto
raised - formed from a single sheet of metal by repeated hammering over an anvil
emboss - mold or carve in relief, decorate with a raised design
chase - to decorate a metal surface using a hammer and sharp tool

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