Silver Chalice, France Around 1830 By Basnier Goldsmith

Tulip chalice in embossed silver, chiseled and guilloché, formed of three essential screwed parts. The chalice rests on a circular ogee base decorated with a Jerusalem cross, a Trinitarian triangle and a cloud. The embankment is highlighted by a laurel frieze and decorated with cartouches decorated with symbolic elements of the Eucharist: reeds, ears of wheat, bunches of grapes and lotuses. The stem is made up of collars decorated with fusaroles and a pear-shaped knot decorated with water leaves. The tulip cup is set in a false openwork cup decorated with three oval medallions representing three theological virtues. The cup is golden inside. 950/1000 silver, so-called Vieillard title hallmarks / Paris 1819-1838 / large Paris guarantee hallmarks This chalice was made by the Parisian goldsmith Jacques Alexandre Basnier** Height: 30 cm Base: 15.3 cm Cup diameter: 8.6 cm Weight: 517 gr Despite the presence of a small dent and a slight trace of restoration in the lower part of its knot, this chalice is in excellent condition and, given the absence of wear on the surface of the decor, it was probably almost never used. **Basnier Jacques-Alexandre, specialist in small church goldsmithing since 1807 in Paris. He is the author of a cross offered by Charles X to the chapter of Moulins. He sold a lot in the provinces, in Drome, in Auvergne, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in Morbihan, in Charente, in Cote-d'Or. His successors were Martin until 1834, then Martin-Dejean. Hallmark reproduced on page 110, dictionary of liturgical arts 19th-20th century / Bernard Berthod, Elisabeth Hardouin- Fugier /