Jean-Guillaume Moitte (Paris 1746-1810)

The theatric-masked tureen, guarded by Apollo's Pythian serpents, has its domed lid crowned by the poetry deity's Mt. Parnassus companion Calliope, Muse of epic poetry. An identical design for the upper part of a tureen by Moitte numbered '130' was sold at Sotheby's, Monaco, 26 November 1979, lot 621. This design for a silver-gilt tureen was executed by Henri Auguste for Prince Vladimir Galitzin and his wife, Countess Natalie Chernyshev. The tureen bears the marks of both patrons and of 1789-90 and the handles correspond to the variant on the right in the drawing. An almost identical tureen bearing the marks of 1789-90 is at Malmaison. It was part of a large service of 425 pieces, commissioned by Napoleon and given to his wife Josephine in 1804, on the occasion of his crowning as Emperor (C. Fregnac, Les Grands Orfèvres de Louis XIII à Charles X, Paris, 1965, p. 274, no. 2).