Paul de Lamerie

One of the leading English silversmiths in the first half of the 1700s, Paul de Lamerie was renowned for his technical proficiency and innovative designs using bold organic forms. De Lamerie's parents, French Huguenots, probably left France for religious reasons in the 1680s, emigrating to the Netherlands before settling in London in 1691. Although de Lamerie's early works were simple, unornamented shapes, by the 1730s he was one of the first English silversmiths to work in the ornate Rococo style. 

Unlike silversmiths on the Continent, de Lamerie ensured his monetary success by working both on commission and producing pieces on speculation to be sold later. He operated a large workshop with thirteen employees and a retail business that included jewelry sales. One of the most highly regarded silversmiths of his day, de Lamerie was patronized by the Goldsmith's Company and members of the British aristocracy such as Robert Walpole, first Earl of Orford, and Philip Dormer Stanhope, fourth Earl of Chesterfield. His obituary notice in the London Evening Post recorded that de Lamerie was an "eminent" craftsman, "particularly famous in making fine ornamental Plate, and has been very instrumental in bringing that Branch of Trade to the perfection it is now in."