Silver Wedding Cup From Beuzec (finistère), Brittany

Breton silver wedding cup.
Marked on one side J. Quéridie? in Beuzec and on the other Jean Kirisit in Beuzec. Circa 1820.
Old man's mark. Undetermined silversmith.
Dimensions: diameter, 9 cm and length with handles, 14 cm.
The ornate cups date from the 13th century and are closer to chalices than to cups, in terms of shape. They were reserved for the elite, that is to say, princes and prelates, who also used shallow but wide bowls to consume liquids. If the habit of drinking from a cup died out towards the end of the 17th century, it then became customary, and this would remain so until the end of the 19th century, to offer the bride and groom a wedding cup. This cup is hemispherical and flattened, on a low foot, with two vertical scrolled handles. Wedding cups are very rarely decorated on the body, but the edges of the foot may be. The outer rim of the wedding cup very often bears an engraved inscription: the most common indicates the name of the bride or her initials, as well as the date of the wedding. Sometimes the name of the groom or his initials and the name of the village in which the union was celebrated are found.