Covered Tureen on Stand

1812

Covered Tureen on Stand, 1812. Paul Storr (British, 1771–1844). Silver; overall: 35.2 x 43.2 cm (13 7/8 x 17 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Thomas F. Grasselli in memory of Thomas S. and Emilie S. Grasselli 1968.242 Silver fulfilled a prominent role in projecting wealth, status, power, and ritual in British life during the 1600s and 1700s. Elaborate forms such as this tureen, with its lionhead finials, acanthus leaves, and fluted detailing, not only represented wealth in its sheer silver weight but also provided royal and aristocratic owners a surface for displaying engraved coats of arms. The arms of the High Sheriff of Yorkshire, Timothy Hutton and his wife Elizabeth Chaytor of Spennithorne Hall in northern England are engraved on this tureen and stand by Paul Storr, one of the most prominent London silversmiths of the period. While the word “tureen” was derived from the Latin word terrine, the name has also long been associated with the Marshal of France, Vicomte de Turenne (1611–1675), who according to legend once drank soup from his helmet.