Louisa Perina Courtauld (née Ogier; 1729 – 12 January 1807) was a French-born English

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...

Biography

She was the youngest daughter of

Huguenots 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, ...

from Sigournay in Poitou, France. Her parents were a

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

weaver Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainmen ...

from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Pierre Abraham Ogier and his wife Catherine Rabaud. Louisa Courtauld and her family moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

when she was young, the city in which she spent most of her career. Her family's home at 19 Princelet Street, a 'brick messuage' built in 1719, has been conserved as a museum of immigration and diversity. At the age of 20 she married Samuel Courtauld, son of Augustin Courtauld, a metalsmith of Huguenot extraction. With him she had eight children, although only four survived, and their son George, apprenticed in 1761 to a silk throwster, began the link to the textile company

Courtaulds Courtaulds was a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres, and chemicals. It was established in 1794 and became the world's leading man-made fibre production company before being broken up in 1990 into Courtauld ...

. They ran a successful business until Samuel Courtauld's death in 1765. Her own hallmark was registered with the Goldsmiths' Company around 1766. After her husband died, she inherited the business and continued to run it by herself until 1769. Some years later, she took on George Cowles, who had been the head

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 ...

, as a business partner. In 1777 her son, Samuel Courtauld II, replaced Cowles in that capacity and they registered a new joint hallmark. This arrangement lasted three years; when it ended the two closed the business and it was sold to John Henderson. Samuel moved to

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, while Louisa retired to

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. Courtauld's firm was known for the high quality of its wares. She and her husband made their reputation with silver in the then-popular

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 from France. However, by the time of her partnership with Cowles, tastes had shifted towards

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

, and the company changed its output accordingly. Courtauld's father-in-law Augustin Courtauld had studied with Simon Pantin, whose daughter, Elizabeth Godfrey, was to become with Courtauld one of the very few female silversmiths of distinction in eighteenth-century London. Louisa Courtauld's portrait was painted, possibly by

Johann Zoffany Johan / Johann Joseph Zoffany (born Johannes Josephus Zaufallij; 13 March 1733 – 11 November 1810) was a German neoclassical painter who was active mainly in England, Italy, and India. His works appear in many prominent British collections ...

, whose commissions included members of the British royal family. It is more probable that Nathaniel Dance-Holland painted this portrait. As a widow, she may have lived in a cottage behind Joseph Priestley's house off Clapton Square on the corner of Clapton Passage and Lower Clapton Road in Hackney. She is also recorded as living in Clapton in Essex. Her last will and testament, probated 27 January 1807, identifies her as "Louisa Perina Courtauld, Widow of Saint John Hackney, Middlesex." She was originally buried in the vault of

Christ Church, Spitalfields Christ Church Spitalfields is an Anglican church built between 1714 and 1729 to a design by Nicholas Hawksmoor. On Commercial Street (London), Commercial Street in the East End and in today's Central London it is in the London Borough of Tower H ...

, East London. However, following extensive archaeological excavation of the Spitalfields church crypt in the 1980s, prior to the church's restoration, her body was removed and examined. Her remains were reburied in Gosfield Church, Essex in 2002.Adams M, Reeve J. 1987. Excavations at Christ Church, Spitalfields 1984-6. Antiquity 61:247–256.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtauld, Louisa 1729 births 1807 deaths English silversmiths Louisa Women silversmiths 18th-century English businesspeople 19th-century English businesspeople 18th-century English businesswomen 19th-century English businesswomen French emigrants to England French emigrants to the Kingdom of Great Britain People from Deux-Sèvres Businesspeople from London