Pair Of Sauce Boats, 1746/47. Cast in the form of large nautilus shells, these splendid sauce boats are decorated with tiny specimens of marine life. Polished sea creatures are encrusted in the pebbled surface, like fossils revealed by an archaeologist¡¦s brush. Miniature serpents raise their heads as they slither across the handles, a detail both ornamental and practical, they provide a useful place for the pourer to rest a thumb.