Ewer. Culture: French, Toulouse. Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 10 5/8 × 7 1/8 × 5 1/8 in., 40.314oz. (27 × 18.1 × 13 cm, 1143g). Maker: Barthélemy Samson (master ca. 1760, died 1782). Date: 1771.Fine workmanship and excellence in design were not confined to the work of Parisian goldsmiths; Toulouse was also a productive center of goldsmithing in eighteenth-century France. The artisans in the provinces did not merely copy those of Paris but were creative in their own right, with regard to both form and ornament. The goldsmiths of Toulouse were especially adept at interpreting Rococo ornament at its most exuberant. The zoomorphic dolphin handle is finely pierced to catch light and underscore the malleability of the precious metal. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.