Silversmith of the Emperor Napoleon I Jean-Baptiste Claude Odiot (1763-1850)

Important and exceptional Empire vermeil campaign coffee service set in its original casing. This service belonged without a doubt to a noble of the Empire. The coffee pot is decorated with flowers, palm leaves, palmettoes, the spout in the form of a panther head, black lacquered wood handle and satyr head, flower finial at the lid, with a Heracles and Bacchus décor at the paunch, pedestal foot. The milk pot is decorated with flowers, palm leaves, palmettoes, black lacquered wood handle and satyr head, with a Hygeia décor at the paunch, a Victory as well as a macaroon of a divinity. The sugar bowl, decorated with flowers, palm leaves, palmettoes, cross handle finishing with a Zeus macaroon, with a Bacchus straddling a panther décor at the paunch and of a cherub straddling a lion, pedestal foot. 
Hallmark “dit au viellard” after August 16th, 1819, hallmark of the high warantee, hallmark of the silversmith of the emperor Jean-Baptiste Claude Odiot. 

Coffee pot: 
H: 36cm
L: 24cm
l: 12cm
Weight with handle: 1418.6gr. - 50.04oz

Milk pot:
H: 28cm
L: 16cm 
l:12cm
Weight with handles: 621.2gr. - 21.91oz

Sugar bowl:
H : 16cm
L: 16.5cm
L: 13cm 
Weight with handle: 747.2gr. - 26.36oz

Bibliography : 

Jean-Baptiste Claude Odiot was born in Paris in 1763 and died in Paris in 1850. He came from a lineage of important silversmiths, including Jean-Baptiste Gaspard Odiot, creator of the Maison Odiot, still existing today. For Jean-Baptiste Claude Odiot, the influence of the Greek and Egyptian classical motif, the utilisation of vermeil, the fabrication of individual ornament and the fixation with screw and rivet is the base of his reputation. In 1802, he won a gold medal at the Exposition de l’Industrie in Paris and replaced the silversmith of the Emperor Napoleon I, Henry Auguste. He carried on multiple works for the Emperor and the court of France, such as the sword and scepter of the imperial coronation, the cradle of the king of Rome and the campaign service of the Emperor. His reputation was so important that he worked for the countess Branicki and the count Nikolai Demidoff, two member of the Russian Imperial court. It is only in 1823 that he retired, giving the Maison Odiot to his son, Charles Nicolas Odiot, silversmith for the Orleans royal family and to Louis-Philippe I. Today, we can find some of his work in multiple museums, such as Le Louvre, in Paris and the Napoleon museum in La Havane, Cuba.