John and Abigail Adams Silver Flatware. A pair of Louis XVI fiddle-pattern silver dessert forks by Pierre-Nicolas Sommé (received master 1781), Paris, circa 1783, each later engraved 'John Adams.' The forks bear the crowned 'A' Paris charge mark for 1783 and represent fine examples of late eighteenth-century French table silver produced during the final years of the Ancien Régime. Length: 6 9/16 in. (16.7 cm) Provenance: Patricia Adams Seaman Daniels, descended through the Adams family (sold Sotheby's New York, Important Americana, 30 January 1991, lot 156); sold privately to the present owner. These elegant pieces were almost certainly acquired by John and Abigail Adams during Adams's diplomatic service in Europe. Adams first arrived in France in 1778 as Commissioner to the French court alongside Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee, charged with securing French support for the American cause. After serving as Minister to the Dutch Republic and helping negotiate crucial wartime loans, Adams returned to Paris in 1782 to participate in the negotiations leading to the Treaty of Paris. The couple remained in France until 1785, when Adams was appointed the first United States Minister to Great Britain. The forks date specifically to this second Paris period, as indicated by the 1783 Paris charge mark. Their refined fiddle pattern and understated Louis XVI form exemplify the sophisticated Parisian silver favored by American diplomats and statesmen in the years immediately following the Revolution. By family tradition, the forks remained in use by the Adams family during John Adams's presidency and subsequently descended through five generations. When sold at Sotheby's in 1991, the forks were catalogued as 'French Silver of American Interest,' described as Louis XVI table silver owned and used by John and Abigail Adams between 1779 and 1784. Works by Pierre-Nicolas Sommé are also preserved in the collection of Monticello, including silver likely acquired by Thomas Jefferson during his tenure as Minister to France (1785-1789). For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing