Aucoc French Sterling Silver Pair of Impressive Gravy Sauce Boats on Stands in Empire Style
Aucoc, French, early 20th century, 0.950 (higher purity than sterling) silver pair of gravy sauce boats in Empire style, on fixed stands with removable silver liners. With unmatched elegance. these sauce boats showcase stylized natural motifs on the rims, underplates, and handles. Each stand measures 10 1/4'' in length by 6 1/2'' in width. The sauce boat measures 9 1/2'' in length by 6 1/3'' from handle to handle. Total height is 4 3/4''. Their impressive weight is 90 troy ounces. Each bears hallmarks, monograms on the sauce boats and undertrays as well as a dedicatory inscription underneath as shown.
James Gordon Bennett Jr. (1841-1918) was publisher of the New York Herald, which was founded by his father, James Gordon Douglas, the original recipient of those sauce boats, was Bennett Jr.'s godson.
Maison Aucoc is one of the leading goldsmiths and jewelers of the Second Empire and Art Nouveau movements in France. It exhibited a tea table at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904 and the judges awarded the firm a Grand Prize.The Maison Aucoc of was founded in 1821 by Louis Aucoc Aine as a silversmithing business at 154 Rue St. Honoré in Paris. In 1835, the business moved to Rue de la Paix, and in 1854, he retired and left his son Louis Aucoc in charge of the family firm. During his tenure, Aucoc added jewelry manufacturing to the already successful silver business with great success. The 1870s proved to be a time of great expansion for the company. Aucoc purchased the Maison Lobojois and consolidated both businesses to create La Maison Aucoc, where the legendary René Lalique apprenticed. Aucoc participated in the major international exhibitions of the day with some of the firm's grandest furniture and jewelry creations.
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