Silver Sculptural Project for a Large Centerpiece and Two Tureens Which Have Been Executed for His Lordship the Duke of Kingston, plate 115 from Works of Juste-Aurèle Meissonier (Oeuvre de Juste-Aurèl

Silver Sculptural Project for a Large Centerpiece and Two Tureens Which Have Been Executed for His Lordship the Duke of Kingston, plate 115 from Works of Juste-Aurèle Meissonier (Oeuvre de Juste-Aurèle Meissonier) (c. 1735–37) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Gabriel Huquier (French, 1695–1772); Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (French, 1695–1750).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In addition to documenting an important commission, this etching endorses the designer’s stylish products by associating them with social status. Meissonnier’s name appears below the image on the left, and the large inscription identifies the illustrious patron, the Duke of Kingston, known well in Parisian society. Perhaps functioning similarly to a magazine advertisement today, the fashionable rococo-style scene invites viewers to imagine themselves as the owners of the luxurious tableware. Contrary to the inscription at the bottom of the sheet, the etching actually shows two views of only one of the tureens made for the Duke of Kingston (the tureen displayed nearby). The tureen not depicted features a crab instead of a lobster on the lid. The grand sculptural centerpiece was probably never produced.

Object facts

• Title: Silver Sculptural Project for a Large Centerpiece and Two Tureens Which Have Been Executed for His Lordship the Duke of Kingston, plate 115 from Works of Juste-Aurèle Meissonier (Oeuvre de Juste-Aurèle Meissonier)
• Date: c. 1735–37
• Creator attribution: Gabriel Huquier (French, 1695–1772); Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (French, 1695–1750)
• Culture: France
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching
• Dimensions: Sheet: 42 x 66.8 cm (16 9/16 x 26 5/16 in.); Platemark: 38 x 64 cm (14 15/16 x 25 3/16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 2000.76

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.