Tureen and Stand

Jean-François Dapcher, whose maker’s mark is on this early Neoclassical tureen, was a pupil of the great Parisian silversmith and goldsmith François-Thomas Germain (1726–1791). At the time the tureen was produced, Germain was on the run for bankruptcy, and forbidden by law from making or marking silver. This may have obliged him to leave his masterworks unsigned and opt for cover by his apprentice, Dapcher. The Stroganov coat of arms, emblem of one of the grandest Russian noble families, is prominently featured on both sides of the tureen in an oval shield. The tureen was produced for Count Alexander Sergeyevitch Stroganov, Russian ambassador to London and Naples and a renowned collector and patron of the arts. Like most Russian nobles, Count Alexander loved French culture and commissioned luxurious objects from Parisian craftsmen. Only one other piece from this dinner service is known to have survived. Beef Stroganoff must have been named for a later member of the family as the recipe first appears in a cookbook only in 1861.