Robert Lefèvre - Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot (1822)

Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot (1763–1850) was a French

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary grea ...

working in the neoclassical style.

Business

''Maison Odiot'', in English "House of Odiot", was established in 1690, during the reign of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

by Jean-Baptiste Gaspard Odiot, considered a fine silversmith. Emperor

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 wh ...

gave Jean-Baptiste Claude, grandson of Jean-Baptiste Gaspard, many prestigious commissions for himself and his family, such as the sacred scepter and sword and the King of Rome's cradle. Immense dinner services were ordered by Pauline Borghèse, by her mother and by the Emperor himself. Jean-Baptiste Claude was influenced by the return of the classical Greek and Egyptian motifs as expressed in the

Directoire The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and replaced by ...

and

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

styles. Court commissions help further the reputation of Maison Odiot, and the firm provided vermeil services to courts across European. Charles Nicolas Odiot, who excelled in the rocaille style, succeeded his father and became the purveyor by appointment to His Majesty the King Louis-Philippe and to the Royal Family of Orleans. He was later succeeded by his son Gustave who received the House of Odiot's most important commission ever, id est, 3,000 pieces of solid gold flatware for Saïd Pacha, the Viceroy of Egypt. He later became the purveyor by appointment to the court of His Imperial Majesty the Tsar. Gustave was also the last member of the Odiot family to preside over the company.

Works

The only surviving work by him dating from before the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

(1789–95) is a coffee urn ( Monticello, Virginia, Jefferson Foundation) designed and commissioned by

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

. In 1802 he was awarded a gold medal in the third ''Exposition de l’Industrie'' in Paris. He executed a travelling service (c. 1795–1809) for Napoleon and a large table service (1798–1809; Munich, Residenz) for

Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria Maximilian I Joseph (german: Maximilian I. Joseph; 27 May 1756 – 13 October 1825) was Duke of Zweibrücken from 1795 to 1799, prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph) from 1799 to 1806, then King of Bavaria (as Maximilian I Joseph) ...

(1756–1825). Odiot’s most complex work was a set of dressing-table furniture made for Empress Marie Louise in 1810 (destr. 1832).

Cradle of the King of Rome

Among the most prominent commissions received by Odiot, was the Cradle of the King of Rome, a wood, bronze and silver gilt cradle given as a gift by the city of Paris to Napoleon and his wife Empress Marie-Louise, on the birth of their son Napoleon II. Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot (1763–1850) contributed to its making along with silversmith Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751–1843) and is signed on two of the feet: ''Odiot et Thomire'' and ''Thomire et Odiot''. It is in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

today.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odiot, Jean-Baptiste-Claude French silversmiths 1763 births 1850 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery