Cleveland Museum of Art

Sauce Boat

Nicolas Duclos (1699–1755), master silversmith in 1726

Date

1743

Medium

silver

Culture

France, Paris

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

When heated sauces began to be served separately from meat and fish towards the end of the 17th century, sauce boats began to be used as another piece of elaborately designed silver dinner services popular in European courts. This sauce boat reflects early models in the shape of a nef , a condiment vessel which derives its name from a ship of the same shape. This sauceboat would likely have been accompanied by a tray and a spoon used to skim grease from the surface of the sauce.

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