Ballin

French family of goldsmiths and bronze-founders. Members of the Ballin family were active in Paris from the 16th century to the 18th. Claude Ballin (i) (b Paris, 3 May 1615; d Paris, 22 May 1678) became a master goldsmith in 1637. He was granted lodgings in the Louvre, Paris, before 1671 and became Orf?vre Ordinaire du Roi. Nicknamed 'the Great Ballin', he was one of the most prominent French goldsmiths of the 17th century. He worked extensively for Louis XIV, providing an enormous quantity of silver and silver-gilt objects, including vases, bowls, display stands and incense-burners that formed part of the silver furnishings (destr. 1690) of the ch?teau of Versailles. Ballin's work in the classical style also included ecclesiastical pieces (untraced) for the cathedrals of Paris and Reims that are known from numerous drawings (Berlin, Kstbib. & Mus.; Stockholm, N. Mus.; Beauvais, Archvs D?pt.), and which also feature in some wall-hangings, for example the History of the King and the Royal Houses. Some of his works influenced the bronzework of Andr? Charles Boulle. Ballin was succeeded in his appointment as Orf?vre Ordinaire du Roi by Nicolas de Launay, his nephew by marriage.

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