Swan-shaped ewer by master silversmith Charles FORGELOT (1901-1928)

A superb solid silver ewer in the Empire style, the handle in the form of a swan with outstretched wings, delicately perched on a bed of water leaves.

The lid, body, base, and even the ring encircling the handle are adorned with delicate friezes of water leaves and pearls. The body is decorated with a frieze of swans with outstretched wings, laurel wreaths, and small flowers, all finely chased.

The spout is formed by an eagle's head.

Hallmarks:

Minerva 1st standard.

Silversmith: CF and a portable forge for Charles Forgelot, active between 1901 and 1928.

Gross weight: 669 grams.

This piece is similar to an exceptional Empire-style jam pot by the goldsmith Jacques-Gabriel-André Bompart (Paris, 1809-1819), now in the collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

MUSÉE DES ARTS DÉCORATIFS, PARIS: Jam pot, by Jacques-Gabriel André Bompart, goldsmith, and Pierre-Philippe Rousseau, spoon maker, silver-gilt and crystal, inv. 29291.

From ancient Greece to Siberia, by way of Asia Minor, as well as among the Slavic and Germanic peoples, a vast array of myths, traditions, and poems celebrates the swan, an immaculate bird whose whiteness, power, and grace make it a living epiphany of light.

The swan is a symbol of light, purity, and love in many cultures.

In shamanism, the swan totem is associated with love, inspiration, intuition, grace, and beauty. As an aquatic, and therefore lunar, bird, it is also linked to emotions and spirituality.

Swans are monogamous and faithful, and symbolize eternal love.

In the Far East, the swan is a symbol of elegance, nobility, and courage. This is why, according to Liezi, the Mongols made Emperor Mu of Zhou drink swan blood. It is also a symbol of music and song.

The Christian Middle Ages saw in it whiteness and purity, but also song and the transformation known as metamorphosis. Thus was born the legend of the Swan Knight, present in chronicles from the late 11th century onward, which alone embodies the various aspects of the bird's symbolism. By playing on words, feudal traditions transformed this mysterious knight of the swan into the grandfather of Godfrey of Bouillon, thus inscribing his legend in the mythological heritage of the House of Boulogne, one of the most powerful in the West. Later traditions grafted this onto the Arthurian legend, making him an ancestor of Perceval.

At the end of the Middle Ages, many princes and knights "played" the role of the knight of the swan, adopting a swan emblem or motto (such as John of Berry). The bird was thereby elevated, transforming from a merely noble bird into a fully royal one, to the point that in England and several other European countries, it became forbidden for anyone not of royal blood to own swans.

In 1443, the Order of the Swan was founded in Prussia. Its statutes were renewed by Frederick William IV in 1843. It was conferred upon individuals who pledged to care for the sick, relieve the poor, tend to the wounded, and console those suffering from remorse or condemned by the courts. The King and Queen of Prussia served as Grand Masters, and the Order comprised only one class of members. A swan with outstretched wings was suspended from the Order's collar.

The swan is also the emblem of the poet's soul, an image that has profoundly influenced poetry and music, particularly during the Romantic era, with major works such as Tchaikovsky's The Dying Swan and Wagner's Lohengrin.

Ref: JQAC85VXBJ