Silver, silver.(Paul de Lamerie's exhibition)

The work of the great Huguenot silversmith Paul de Lamerie is found mainly in museums. An exception is the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Cahn, which contains many important objects by Lamerie. The Cahns' holdings form the basis for a traveling exhibition entitled Beyond the Maker's Mark: Paul de Lamerie Silver in the Cahn Collection, organized by the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Tennessee, and on view at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London until January 21. It will be seen at the Memphis Brooks Museum from March 30 until July 22, and subsequently at the Saint Louis Art Museum and the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia. The dates for those showings will be included in Calendar.

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The exhibition consists of about fifty pieces, including several by Lamerie that have never before been on public view. Among the highlights are the so-called Maynard Dish made in 1736 and the tureen in the shape of a green turtle, illustrated below, made in 1750 or 1751. Included also are a small number of works by Lamerie's contemporaries. One of the aims of the exhibition is to examine the silversmith's relationships with his patrons, some of whom are identified through the coats of arms engraved on the silver.

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