The first London coffee house was opened in 1652 by Pasqua Roseé, a member the English Levant Co. that traded with Turkey. In Smyrna-Izmir, he found a taste for the dark stimulant drink. With time, each British coffee house developed its own particular clientele, literary, political, financial and shipping-related. From the coffee house came the Gentleman’s Clubs and City institutions eg the insurance market Lloyds of London. King Charles II tried to close these meeting places down in 1675, but failed. In time, coffee was being consumed at home from silver and porcelain pots. It was usually served black and from long spouted vessels. There was also a fashion for taking it in the Turkish manner, with large quantities of sugar syrup used in the preparation. The short spout meant viscous liquid could flow freely.
de Lamerie
Sugar caster, 1732
The new French Rococo style, the beautifully engraved Lequesne arms and ownership by a successful merchant perfectly embodied the vibrant C18th trade in London.
Christie's
Pierre Harache arrived in 1681 and Simon Pantin worked in London from 1682. After the 1685 expulsion, David Willaume & Daniel Garnier got papers in 1687, Augustine Courtauld arrived in 1688. John Chartier was in London by 1688 but didn’t obtain denisation papers until 1697. Phillip Rollos was in the 1690 denisation list. Louis Mettayer was apprenticed in 1693; Pierre Platel arrived with William III in 1688, but appeared with Louis Cuny in 1697 papers. Jacob & Samuel Margas were apprenticed 1699, Isaac Liger 1700 & Simon Pantin 1701; then the Archambo and Tanqueray families. I researched these beautiful men during a 3 years thesis, and will never forget them.
At a similar time in France, The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted the Protestant Huguenots the right to practise their religion without persecution in Catholic France. But when these Protestants were finally exiled by King Louis XIV in 1685, they had to find safe homes in other countries. Superb Huguenot goldsmiths set up business in London where aristocratic British patrons flocked to them.
In their adopted country, the Huguenots rallied around to protect their silver industry. And they showed a sustained preference for marrying and apprenticing their children into other French families. John Chartier married into the Garnier goldsmith family and his daughter married the goldsmith Peze’ Pilleau; Louis Mettayer’s sister married David Willaume and his daughter married Piere Harache; David Tanqueray was Willaume’s apprentice and later his son-in-law; Simon Pantin was apprenticed to Piere Harache; Augustine Courtauld was apprenticed to Simon Pantin; Edward Feline to Courtauld; John Le Sage to Louis Cuny; Louis Mettayer and David Tanqueray were brothers in law of the engraver Simon Gribelin.
Royal appointments amongst silver artists, both locals and immigrants, were vital. Englishmen George Garthorne was royal Goldsmith to William III and Queen Anne; and Thomas Farren was a Subordinate Goldsmith to the King George I, 1723-42. From the Huguenot community, Phillip Rollos I was Subordinate Goldsmith to William III and to Queen Anne; his son Philip Rollos II succeeded as Subordinate Goldsmith to Queen Anne; and John Le Sage became Subordinate Goldsmith to the King George.
de Lamerie's cup and cover, 1735
classical Huguenot lines and limited added decoration.
Royal appointments amongst silver artists, both locals and immigrants, were vital. Englishmen George Garthorne was royal Goldsmith to William III and Queen Anne; and Thomas Farren was a Subordinate Goldsmith to the King George I, 1723-42. From the Huguenot community, Phillip Rollos I was Subordinate Goldsmith to William III and to Queen Anne; his son Philip Rollos II succeeded as Subordinate Goldsmith to Queen Anne; and John Le Sage became Subordinate Goldsmith to the King George.
de Lamerie's cup and cover, 1735
classical Huguenot lines and limited added decoration.
V&A Museum
So who was Paul de Lamerie (1688–1751)? He migrated to London as a small child with his parents as refugees. Paul de Lamerie was apprenticed to Pierre Platel in 1703, becoming free of his master in 1711 and quite young when he became goldsmith to the King from 1716. Paul’s success lay in his classical creativity eg wine cooler, but also in his ability as a businessman 1730s-50s. A de Lamerie silver gilt sugar caster, decorated with the royal coat of arms, is now at the Worshipful Co. of Goldsmiths.
Huguenot silver artists created severely symmetrical Queen Anne ornament in classical taste. It was said that it was not until de Lamerie introduced the double scroll handle in 1723 that the general effect was made much less formal and ponderous. The broken scroll truly did have a softening effect, but it is not true that de Lamerie introduced this element in 1723. A series of cups by Rollos came out in the 1712-15 period, all displaying flamboyant double harp handles cast with beading and foliage, a style repeated by Samuel Margis in 1721. Pantin (1713) and Rainaud (1715) both utilised more stolid double harp shaped handles, while de Lamerie favoured the softer double scroll handle in 1720.
Elaborate cast mouldings revealed how de Lamerie, like other goldsmiths, was moving away from the simpler decoration favoured by the earlier Huguenot generation. They moved to the much more ornate Rococo style that became popular in London during the 1730s and 40s.
de Lamerie’s works have been valued above other Huguenot or English silver artists for a very long time, but I was keen to see the results of a de Lamerie auction. In July 2013 Christie’s London presented a Rococo coffee pot 1738. The silver coffee-pot was created in the George II era, richly decorated with characteristic Rococo motifs - bold scroll work, flowers and shells. (27 cm high). The coffee pot was commissioned by London-based trader, successful merchant and Huguenot, Sir John Lequesne (1687-1741). Lequesne and his wife Mary Knight married in 1738, the very date of the coffee pot. So now the question is: who was Lequesne?
Huguenot silver artists created severely symmetrical Queen Anne ornament in classical taste. It was said that it was not until de Lamerie introduced the double scroll handle in 1723 that the general effect was made much less formal and ponderous. The broken scroll truly did have a softening effect, but it is not true that de Lamerie introduced this element in 1723. A series of cups by Rollos came out in the 1712-15 period, all displaying flamboyant double harp handles cast with beading and foliage, a style repeated by Samuel Margis in 1721. Pantin (1713) and Rainaud (1715) both utilised more stolid double harp shaped handles, while de Lamerie favoured the softer double scroll handle in 1720.
Elaborate cast mouldings revealed how de Lamerie, like other goldsmiths, was moving away from the simpler decoration favoured by the earlier Huguenot generation. They moved to the much more ornate Rococo style that became popular in London during the 1730s and 40s.
de Lamerie’s works have been valued above other Huguenot or English silver artists for a very long time, but I was keen to see the results of a de Lamerie auction. In July 2013 Christie’s London presented a Rococo coffee pot 1738. The silver coffee-pot was created in the George II era, richly decorated with characteristic Rococo motifs - bold scroll work, flowers and shells. (27 cm high). The coffee pot was commissioned by London-based trader, successful merchant and Huguenot, Sir John Lequesne (1687-1741). Lequesne and his wife Mary Knight married in 1738, the very date of the coffee pot. So now the question is: who was Lequesne?
de Lamerie's coffee pot, 1738
curvy rococo lines and rich decorations
auctioned at Christie’s in London in 2013
sold for £3.5 million–£4.5 million.auctioned at Christie’s in London in 2013
As a child, Lequesne moved to Britain as a refugee with his brother, fleeing Rouen like many of his fellow Protestants. The Lequesne brothers prospered, trading with the West Indies. John became an Alderman of the City, a director of the Bank of England and was knighted by King George II in 1737. A successful marriage, with a HUGE dowry, and an equally successful career enabled him thrive.
The new French Rococo style, the beautifully engraved Lequesne arms and ownership by a successful merchant perfectly embodied the vibrant C18th trade in London.