Sauce Boat c. 1770

These sauceboats were crafted in the eighteenth century by Philip Syng Junior, fashioned from gleaming silver. Note the pronounced feet of the vessels, and the stylized acanthus leaves sprouting from their lower halves. The acanthus leaf, a motif adorning these sauceboats, is not merely decorative. Its origins trace back to ancient Greece. We see it ornamenting Corinthian columns, symbolizing endurance and immortality, connecting these humble sauceboats to grand architectural statements of the past. Consider how the acanthus evolved. From its rigid, stylized form in classical architecture, it appears here softened, domesticated, adorning a vessel of domestic life. This transformation mirrors our own relationship with the past—memories and symbols shift in meaning, echoing through time. The motif retains a powerful emotional resonance.