Lot 163 Dα

This box can be attributed with great certainty to François-Thomas Germain, who came from an old Parisian family of goldsmiths who had been supplying the French court since 1679. When his father, Thomas Germain, died in 1748, François-Thomas took over his large studio and with it the title of Orfèvre du Roi. In addition to his regular deliveries to the Royal Palace, he also received commissions from other courts like his father before him. For example, between 1756 and 1760, his workshop delivered extensive commissions to Tzarina Elisabeth of Russia. Around the same time, Germain was also commissioned by King Joseph I to replace the court silver which his father had supplied and most of which had fallen victim to a devastating earthquake in 1755. From 1756 to 1757, François-Thomas Germain provided the Portuguese court with close to 1,200 items for the royal table and chambers, including a gilded toilet service, a déjeuner, four dozen plates, three dozen gilded knives, a gold rapier and twelve wine coolers in three different sizes. In the issue of the Parisian journal l'Avant-Coureur from 8th September 1766, a contemporary author praises a vermeil toilette service produced by Germain for the Princesse de Portugal: "In essence, the work is quite plain and simple, but it contains all the grace and value of its genre. One thing that cannot be overlooked is the exceptional quality of the gilding. It certainly stands up to comparison with pure gold, something which German gilt pieces could never achieve. We cannot thank Monsieur Germain enough for reviving a technique which has been so long neglected in France and bringing it to its full potential (He has proven himself to be a worthy successor to his father, whom our great authors have immortalised?"