Vessel comprising four hardstone pieces and five enamelled gold mounts. The oblong bowl has a boat-shaped profile with gadroons at the ends. A leaf-shaped piece serving as a lip is joined to the body with a mount of leaves and rows of beads enamelled in white and sky blue. The stem consists of a heliotrope ball and a balustroid piece linked to a flat oval foot, with an adornment of rounded leaves
Oval platter made up of eighteen pieces of heliotrope joined by a gilt bronze frame and a recessed central body with cruciform motif around a central oval. Attached to the structure of the mounting are several overlays of enamelled gold, some now lost, adorned with thirty-seven pearls, of which twenty-five remain today. There is a similar platter at the Musée du Louvre, which suggests that
Vessel made up of three pieces of heliotrope and four gold mounts. The bowl has an oblong mouth and four broad gadroons separated by four narrower ones. It opens out towards the middle to become slightly bell-shaped. At each end, two male masks in chased gold hold a rope pattern ring in their mouths. It is attached to the stem by means of a gold mount with incised floral decoration and C-shaped ad
A vessel made up of five pieces, the body of serpentine and the rest of heliotrope. By means of a silver gilt volute and a circle of rubies and diamonds in the form of a collar, an eagle’s head has been added, its feathers repeated on the enamel of the mount, which also features a string of gemstones. The stem rests on a flat foot. This part is enriched by four mounts with feuillages, and another
Vessel made up of four pieces of heliotrope and five gold mounts enamelled in opaque sky blue, turquoise, white and black, and translucent green. The irregular body has the form of a scallop shell, with marked gadroons and incisions parallel to the lip, and crudely carved ovals around the rim. On the sides are two small monolithic handles surmounted by enamelled gold mounts representing the heads
The coffer is a key item in any study of French silverware and European collecting. Initially part of Cardinal Mazarin’s collection, on his death it was sold at auction, subsequently being acquired by the Grand Dauphin. The gold crafting links this piece to a group of works associated with the so-called Maestro of Dragons, Pierre Delabarre, a Parisian silversmith who qualified as a master craftsma
Mutilated during the Peninsular War and the robbery of 1918, the volumes of this vessel can now only be appreciated from the case and a historic photograph. It is notable both for the stone used, heliotrope, and for the important enamelled gold mounts which substantially enriched its design. It consists of an oval body with a deep boat-shaped profile and eight large waves or gadroons. It has a dom
Goblet comprising four pieces of heliotrope, three adornments and two handles of gilded silver with appliqués of enamelled gold and turquoises. Its body, featuring an oval mouth and cruciform cross-section, is arranged in four large flutes. The goblet is finely carved, to the extent of endowing the stone with translucent qualities. The crown of the lid, the shape of which is evident from th
Vessel made up of three pieces of hardstone and five enamelled gold mounts. The body, with an oval mouth and irregular semicircular profile, undulates across six broad gadroons. So too does the cover, rather smaller and almost flat, surmounted by a turned motif terminating in an acorn. The mount joining the two pieces is formed by a broad band pierced with vegetable spirals and cruciform motifs en
This piece, which belongs to a set of two ewers with basins (O24 to O27), is a jug with a bell-shaped body and deep, hemispherical base, from which a spout with a sloping upper plane emerges. The mount takes the form of a grille, replacing the usual ribs of the lower part with pearl-laden leaves, a moulding in the lower third and uneven vertical strips bearing an S-shaped handle, with a mascaron,
A high cup formed by an ancient fragment of serpentine and a foot and stem of heliotrope. The bowl, with a rectangular mouth, is joined by a ring mount and enamelled leaves to the balustroid stem, with a low knop between round brackets of enamelled gold. Oval in shape, it has a rounded profile and a rich openwork cluster of enamelled gold leaves. The enamels are opaque and consist of light touches
Vessel made up of five pieces of heliotrope joined by five mounts. The body consists of an oval dish whose profile is an almost flat arch with a flange beneath the base. On the upper face is an indentation for holding an object. Inserted with a crosspiece is an enamelled gold structure with a design of pointed leaves, which joins it to the beginning of the stem, formed by two knops and a pyriform
This case takes the form of the vessel for which it was made, an Abloodstone vessel with three gold-coloured dolphins, disappeared in 1918 (HF835/002). The exquisite pieces from the Dauphin´s Treasure are complemented by the custom-made cases that match the shape of each and allow them to be safely transported and counted, as each can be recognized by the contours of its corresponding box. Their w
Goblet comprising three pieces of heliotrope and two adornments. The body has eight fluted grooves making up a rounded, multi-lobed mouth. The baluster stem is also decorated with convex flutes, but it has only four while the bell-shaped base reverts to eight. The body is joined to the stem by a convex adornment in gold, decorated with inlaid blue and red translucent enamelling together with opaqu
The vessel comprises an oval base, stem and boat-shaped cup and four adornments in enamelled gold. Both the lid and the adornment that once decorated the base disappeared when the Treasure was looted by French troops in the Peninsula War in 1813. In the absence of the lid, which had the profile of a lowered arch and a sculpted crown, its original dimensions can only be surmised by reference to the
Vessel formed by two pieces of heliotrope and seven gold mounts enamelled in white with touches of black. It has a somewhat flattened globular body, a short cylindrical neck, a round mouth, and two monolithic handles. The whole belly is decorated in the style of ancient vases in what has been called a honeycomb pattern. The cover, which can be removed, has a finial of foliage with a pineapple. The
The cup is made up of two pieces of stone and two enamelled gold mounts. The bowl consists of a scallop shell on which two transversal handles are carved in the same block, forming simple circles that rise high above the rim. With a boat-shaped profile, it has two gadroons on the prow or spout, forming a trefoiled mouth. The stern undulates at the edge to create a wave with a vegetable motif at th