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The collection of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French silver at the J. Paul Getty Museum is of extraordinary quality and state of preservation. Each piece is remarkable for its beauty, inventive form, skillful execution, illustrious provenance, and the renown of its maker. Never having been the subject of a cohesive study, this catalogue is the first to thoroughly explore these exquisite objects with over two hundred fifty color photographs, bringing into focus miniscule makers’ marks, inscriptions, and heraldic armorials.

The publication begins with an essay that details the formation of the Museum’s collection of French silver, several pieces of which were selected by Mr. Getty himself, and continues with notes to the reader concerning the regulations of the historic Parisian guild of gold- and silversmiths that set quality controls and consumer protections. The ten catalogue entries cover a total of thirty-three pieces along with comprehensive descriptions, provenance and exhibition histories, and technical information. The related commentaries shed light on the function of these objects and the roles they played in the daily lives of their prosperous owners. The catalogue includes maker biographies and a full bibliography.

Citation Information

Chicago

Bremer-David, Charissa. French Silver in the J. Paul Getty Museum. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2023. https://www.getty.edu/publications/french-silver/.

MLA

Bremer-David, Charissa. French Silver in the J. Paul Getty Museum. J. Paul Getty Museum, 2023, https://www.getty.edu/publications/french-silver/. Accessed DD Mon. YYYY.

Permanent URL

Revision History

Any revisions or corrections made to this publication after the first edition date will be listed here and in the project repository at github.com/thegetty/french-silver/, where a more detailed version history is available. The revisions branch of the project repository, when present, will show any changes currently under consideration but not yet published here.

April 12, 2023

  • First edition

November 17, 2023

  • Added 360-degree rotating images for cats. 1, 4, 6, 8, and 9

  • Updated photography for select cat. 1 figures

  • Corrected missing figures in cats. 7, 8, 9, and 10

  • Added EPUB format for download

  • Fixed style bugs on mobile version

June 3, 2025

  • Made minor text corrections

  • Improved image performance and PDF accessibility

Other Formats

Copyright

This publication was created using Quire™, a multiformat publishing tool from Getty.

© 2023 J. Paul Getty Trust

Unless otherwise indicated, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
Unless otherwise indicated, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Published by the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Getty Publications
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 500
Los Angeles, California 90049-1682
getty.edu/publications/

  • Ruth Evans Lane, Project Editor

  • Zsofia Jilling, Manuscript Editor

  • Greg Albers, Digital Publications Manager

  • Kurt Hauser, Cover Design

  • Victoria Gallina, Production

  • Nancy Rivera, Image and Rights Acquisition

  • Erin Cecele Dunigan and Dina Murokh, Digital Assistants

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  • Names: J. Paul Getty Museum, author, issuing body. | Bremer-David, Charissa, author. | Chasen, Jessica, contributor. | Heginbotham, Arlen, contributor. | Wolfe, Julie, contributor.
  • Title: French silver in the J. Paul Getty Museum / Charissa Bremer-David ; with technical contributions by Jessica Chasen, Arlen Heginbotham, and Julie Wolfe.
  • Description: First edition. | Los Angeles : J. Paul Getty Museum, 2023. | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: “This illustrated book catalogues the J. Paul Getty Museum’s collection of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French silver”— Provided by publisher.
  • Identifiers: LCCN 2022034653 (print) | LCCN 2022034654 (ebook) | ISBN 9781606068281 (paperback) | ISBN 9781606068311 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781606068298 (epub) | ISBN 9781606068304
  • Subjects: LCSH: J. Paul Getty Museum—Catalogs. | Silverwork—France—Paris—History—18th century—Catalogs. | Silverwork—France—Paris—History—17th century—Catalogs. | Silverwork—California—Los Angeles—Catalogs. | LCGFT: Collection catalogs.
  • Classification: LCC NK7149.P3 J3 2023 (print) | LCC NK7149.P3 (ebook) | DDC 739.2/30944361033—dc23/eng/20220831
  • LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022034653
  • LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022034654

Front cover: Detail of cat. no. 6, Pair of Lidded Tureens, Liners, and Stands

Every effort has been made to contact the owners and photographers of illustrations reproduced here whose names do not appear in the captions. Anyone having further information concerning copyright holders is asked to contact Getty Publications so this information can be included in future printings.