The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Covered Tureen on Stand (Pot à oille)

1797–98
fabricated by

Henry Auguste

(French, 1759–1816)
France, late 18th-early 19th Century
silver
Overall: 26.2 x 29.1 cm (10 5/16 x 11 7/16 in.); Average: 22.6 cm (8 7/8 in.)
Gift of James Hazen Hyde 1952.592
Location: 202 French Neoclassical Decorative Arts

Did You Know?

The coat of arms on the body of the work corresponds to the family of Federico Carlos Gravina, a Sicilian-Spanish admiral who was known to have had a close diplomatic relationship with Napoleon I.

Description

This pot-à-oille was designed by master goldsmith Henri Auguste after drawings by draftsman and sculptor Jean Guillaume Moitte. Though many of the neoclassical decorative elements on this piece are pulled from Moitte’s design, Auguste’s final product leaves out much of the proposed ornamentation. Instead this object finds distinction in its large size and smooth expanses of silver that emphasize the purity of its lines.
  • Foote, Helen. "A Gift of French Silver." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 40, no. 4 (1953): 64-67. Mentioned: p. 64; Reproduced; p. 67 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 159 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 159 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 191 archive.org
  • All That Glitters: Great Silver Vessels in Cleveland's Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 23, 1994-January 8, 1995).
    The Taste of Napoleon. Nelson Gallery and Atkins Museum of of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri (October - November 1969).
    Exposition d'orfévrerie française civile du XVIe siècle au debut du XIXe. Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France (April - May 1926).
  • {{cite web|title=Covered Tureen on Stand (Pot à oille)|url=false|author=Henry Auguste|year=1797–98|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1952.592