Henri Auguste (1759–1816) was a leading Parisian gold- and silversmith, working in the

neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The pr ...

. In cooperation with the sculptor Jean Guillaume Moitte, who provided him with designs and models, he became one of the leading designers of

Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 durin ...

in ''orfèvrerie'', a rival of

Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot (1763–1850) was a French silversmith working in the neoclassical style. Business ''Maison Odiot'', in English "House of Odiot", was established in 1690, during the reign of Louis XIV by Jean-Baptiste Gaspard Odiot, ...

and Martin-Guillaume Biennais. He was the only son of the royal goldsmith Robert-Joseph Auguste (1723–1805), whose workshop he assumed in 1784–85. He continued to receive official patronage under

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

from 1784 onwards and also from

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, as well as from the City of Paris, which commissioned a vast silver service in 1804, in connection with the

coronation of Napoleon Napoleon was crowned Emperor of the French on Sunday, December 2, 1804 (11 Frimaire, Year XIII according to the French Republican calendar), at Notre-Dame de Paris in Paris. It marked "the instantiation of hemodern empire" and was a "transpa ...

; of the service that comprised 425 pieces, most were melted down under

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...

; of the remainder, 24 pieces are exhibited in the Salle à manger,

Château de Malmaison The Château de Malmaison () is a French château situated near the left bank of the Seine, about west of the centre of Paris, in the commune of Rueil-Malmaison. Formerly the residence of Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, along with the Tuileri ...

. Among his private patrons was William Beckford, who was introduced to the work of Moitte and Auguste in Portugal, where he viewed the toilette of Madame d'Aranda in 1787, "by far the most exquisite chef d'oeuvre of the kind I ever saw"; between 1788 and 1802 Beckford acquired four ewers from Auguste, one of them gold, the others silver-gilt; two of them were accompanied by basins. Auguste received a gold medal in the 3rd Exposition d'industrie, Paris, 1802. He was declared bankrupt in 1806, however, and, though he was given a period of time in which to order his affairs, was caught at Dieppe in 1809 with 94 packing cases, containing some silver, scientific instruments, and furniture) attempting to flee to England and was adjudged a fraudulent bankrupt. He fled successfully to England in 1809. In 1810 his rival Odiot acquired a number of drawings from his workshop, including one for a wine cooler from the City of Paris banquet service, attributed to Moitte and bearing Odiot's collection mark, now at the

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood, Los Angeles, Brentwood neighborhood ...

. He died in Jamaica in 1816. A silver-gilt tureen and stand, made by Auguste for Tommaso Somma, marchese di Circello, 1787, was purchased for the Royal Collection in 1801.Royal Collection: tureen and stand
/ref> A family portrait, ''Famille de l'orfèvre Henri Auguste réunie autour d'un table'', painted by Gérard François Pascal Simon, 1798, shows the fashionably-dressed couple and their two young sons, grouped around a table in the light of a shaded lamp.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Auguste, Henri 1759 births 1816 deaths French silversmiths Neoclassical artists Metalsmiths from Paris