Ewer

Economics played a part in ensuring the relative simplicity of this silver-plated brass ewer. Although intended for a sideboard display near a dining table, or for hand washing before and during a meal, it was relatively inexpensive. On the edges, the silver has worn thin, revealing the base metal below. When it was new, it would have been indistinguishable from a pure silver ewer, perhaps made to replace a lost one. The wartime expenses of King Louis XIV were vast, draining the national coffers. In 1689, 1699, and again in 1709, French nobles were required to hand over their household silver to be melted down. Many replaced these lost pieces with plated wares, like this example, or, more commonly, with elaborately painted pottery examples.



This simple graceful ewer is of the helmet type that evolved at Louis XIV’s court. The form, based on an inverted classical helmet, became a popular model and was executed not only in silver but also in faience. (See 48.187.19, 17.190.1764, 58.60.14).