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Peter Archambo

( Unknown - 1767 )

The son of a Huguenot, Peter Archambo was the most distinguished apprentice of another Huguenot goldsmith, Jacob Margas. Apprenticed in 1710, Archambo was free of the Butchers' Company in December 1720 and entered his first mark three months later. His earliest address is not known but after 1739 his workshop was in Coventry Street, Piccadilly. Archambo produced plate of fine quality and, together with Paul Crespin, Charles Kandler, and Paul de Lamerie, introduced the rococo style of the 1730's. As the major supplier to George Booth, second earl of Warrington, he also produced a significant quantity of plain domestic plate. Archambo's work is notable for its French taste and plasticity. His career evidently brought his prosperity, since he was described in his will as a "gentleman"; he appears to have been able to retire by about 1750, after which little plate with his mark is known.