Images(3)

Round Bowl

SilversmithMade by Stephen Agate

Date1696

Object NameBowl

Mediumsilver

ClassificationsApplied Art

DimensionsHeight: 5.3 cm, Diameter: 15 cm
Handle To Handle: 19cm

AcquisitionPurchased in 1985.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG001384

Keywords

About MeThis large shallow plain beaten bowl is one of the earliest examples of silverware in the collection. The simplicity of the bowl contrasts with the ornate scroll handles. The bowl has been raised from one sheet of flat silver.
It dates to around 1696 and was made by a silversmith called Étienne Agate, who worked in Old Aberdeen.

The craftsmen of Old Aberdeen had their own Craft Guild and protected their rights and goods. The burghs of Aberdeen and Old Aberdeen merged in 1891 becoming the City of Aberdeen. The fleur-de-lis mark is associated with Old Aberdeen, possibly associated with the lily which was part of Old Aberdeen’s coat of arms. Two of the goldsmiths in Old Aberdeen, Étienne Agate and Samuel Le Reivier, used fleurs-de-lis in their marks but for a different reason, namely that they were Huguenots who had fled from persecution in France.

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Etienne Agate was a Huguenot refugee who settled in Old Aberdeen, where craftsmen had their own guild. This bowl is one of the earliest pieces of silver in the collection