Ellis Finch
Head of Knightsbridge Silver Department
Lot 78
A set of four Victorian silver and parcel-gilt figural salts John Samuel Hunt, London 1854, incuse stamped 'HUNT & ROSKELL LATE STORR & MORTIMER 7219' (4)
29 November 2022, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£8,000 - £12,000
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A set of four Victorian silver and parcel-gilt figural salts
John Samuel Hunt, London 1854, incuse stamped 'HUNT & ROSKELL LATE STORR & MORTIMER 7219'
Modelled as four children in 18th century dress, all holding gilt lined baskets to sell their wares, on grass-effect pedestal bases, inscribed with the monogram 'MTU', with wood inserts, height tallest 18.5cm. (4)
Modelled as four children in 18th century dress, all holding gilt lined baskets to sell their wares, on grass-effect pedestal bases, inscribed with the monogram 'MTU', with wood inserts, height tallest 18.5cm. (4)
Footnotes
These silver and parcel-gilt figural salts were originally designed and modelled by the goldsmith Jean-Valentin Morel (French, 1794-1860). Morel was the son of a Parisian lapidary, and studied in the workshop of the gold box maker Adrien Vachette. He began business on his own account around 1830, later settling in Rue Neuve St Augustin in partnership with the French architect Henri Duponchel. After a lawsuit and the dissolution of the partnership, Morel was barred from working in the Department of the Seine, and moved his business to London. He registered his mark in 1849, and continued to produce the highest quality silver and jewellery.
Morel exhibited a set of these four salts at the Great Exhibition of 1851, where they were described in The Official Catalogue as 'Saltcellars representing figures on donkeys with baskets, embossed and chased; and figures holding baskets, modelled and chased.' One contemporary commentator in 'The Crystal Palace and its Contents' illustrated the salts and selected them for special praise: 'The silver salt cellars, by Morel, are very beautiful little affairs, in the Louis Quatorze style. They represent rustic children, quite of the Watteau order, bearing baskets and dancing lightly under their burthens.' For this submission at the Great Exhibition, he was awarded a prestigious Council Medal.
This design of salt has been noted with hallmarks ranging from 1855-65 with makers' marks for John Samuel Hunt, Barnards, Garrard and C. & G. Fox. When Morel left London under financial difficulties in 1852, it seems likely that he sold his designs to raise funds.
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