Dish

Charles-Louis-Auguste Spriman (or Spriment)

Not on view

Changes in tastes and dining customs are reflected in the quantity and variety of plate made for the dinner table. The late seventeenth century saw the introduction of the so-called service à la française, in which a profusion of differently shaped dishes was carefully arranged in a symmetrical pattern during each course. Thus, silver moved from decorative displays on sideboards to the table, where its role was primarily functional. Diners would help themselves from the platters, dishes, and tureens that were within reach. Identical plates were set around the edge of the table for the individual guests. This dining practice was favored until it was replaced by the so-called service à la russe in the mid-nineteenth century. As the eighteenth century progressed, porcelain and other ceramic dinner services became increasingly popular; however, the silver dinner service never lost its prestige.



Daughter of one of the founders of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, Catherine D. Wentworth (1865–1948) was an art student and painter who lived in France for thirty years. She became one of the most important American collectors of eighteenth-century French silver and on her death in 1948 bequeathed part of her significant collection of silver, gold boxes, French furniture and textiles to the Metropolitan Museum. The collection is particularly strong in domestic silver, much of it provincial, and includes a number of rare early pieces.

Dish, Charles-Louis-Auguste Spriman (or Spriment) (master 1775, recorded 1795), Silver, French, Paris

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.