Peter Archambo I (1699–1759), in his time Peter Archambo, was a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

silver- and goldsmith. He was the English-born son of the Huguenot refugee Archambault family from France. In 1710 he was apprenticed to the notable Huguenot goldsmith

Jacob Margas Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

(1677). The sons of Huguenot immigrants were often apprenticed to masters of Huguenot origin, benefitting from their master's manufacturing skill and design knowledge and thus were in a position to develop the ideas and designs brought by their masters from France. Huguenot silver is noted for its fine workmanship and design elements including strap work, cut card work, and cast and applied ornaments and decoration with elaborate engraving. Archambo's work is described as French in influence and he is credited with helping to introduce the

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

style into England (popular c. 1725 – c. 1765). After serving as apprentice for ten years to Jacob Margas he became a

Freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

of the Butchers' Company on 7 December 1720 (rather than the

Goldsmiths' Company The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths (commonly known as ''The Goldsmiths' Company'' and formally styled ''The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London''), is one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City ...

, which was restricting entry to foreigners into their guild). He first registered his mark in London in 1721, his second mark in 1722 and his third mark in 1739 and is thought to have retired around 1750 and to have died c. 1759. Archambo's work is characterised as in a more restrained manner than that of some of his contemporaries such as the extraordinarily complex silversmith

Paul de Lamerie Paul Jacques de Lamerie (9 April 1688 – 1 August 1751) was a London-based silversmith. The Victoria and Albert Museum describes him as the "greatest silversmith working in England in the 18th century". He was being referred to as the "King's ...

, to whom his son, Peter Archambo (today distinguished as Peter Archambo II) was initially apprenticed. Archambo produced much fine quality domestic silver encompassing a wide range of objects, including cups, candlesticks, cream jugs and cake baskets. The wares often feature marine motifs such as shells and figures such as Neptune. In 1731 he produced the very fine hot water kettle with a circular body with a finely engraved contemporary armorial crest now part of the collection at The Johnston Collection in

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ce ...

in Victoria. Shells and

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

adorn this elegant item which would have been a key requisite for entertaining in style. Other of his works in well known collections include the magnificent wine urn chased with masks, shells and strap-work, and its companion, a wine cistern commissioned by

George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington (2 May 1675 – 2 August 1758) was an English peer and landowner, who amassed a fine collection of silver. Life Born at Mere Hall, Cheshire, on 2 May 1675, the second son of Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warri ...

(1675–1758), which remain in the notable collection of silver at

Dunham Massey Hall Dunham Massey Hall, usually known simply as Dunham Massey, is an English country house in the parish of Dunham Massey, in the district of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. During World War I, it was temporarily used as the Stamford Milita ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

. The

Gilbert Collection The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection is a collection of '' objets d'art'' formed by the English-born businessman Sir Arthur Gilbert, who made most of his fortune in the property business in California. After initially becoming interested ...

now at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, London, has a neo-classical hot-water urn and a set of three exquisite caddies with finely engraved decoration. At the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

there are a pair of plain ewers dated 1740 and a pair of sauce boats dated 1733–1734. Thomas Heming was

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

d to Archambo from 1735 to 1745, and his work, distinctly French in character, shows signs of his master's influence. Heming was an influential and highly regarded goldsmith and from 1760 to 1782 he was appointed Principal Goldsmith to

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

. He was responsible for many pieces of large and important silverware, including regalia and plate for the coronation of George III in 1761.

References

Further reading