Holy Water Vessel, Mons 1711, Charles-albert Marescault

Extremely rare Louis XIV period holy water font in solid silver. Hallmarks of the city of Mons and capital letter S for the year 1711-1712. This dating to the very beginning of the eighteenth century makes it the oldest example of this type of holy water font with the Mons hallmark that I know of. Its engraving, with garlands of flowers and fruits, is still very close to the engravings found on Belgian beakers of the seventeenth century. Entirely fashioned in embossed, chiselled and engraved silver, it demonstrates greater finesse than the holy water vessels  of the same type (with a Regency style engraving) which are fairly commonly found in all Belgian cities between 1720 and 1750. The figure of Christ is in cast silver and quite detailed. The engraver took care to engrave drops of blood below the hands and feet of the crucified, which is also a detail that I observe for the first time on an eighteenth-century font. On the back of the cross is also the hallmark of master silversmith Charles Albert Maresc(h)ault: CM. Given the death of this goldsmith in 1710, this holy water stoup is one proof among many others that the widows of goldsmiths from Mons were authorized to continue the workshops of their deceased husbands by striking the same hallmark of a master goldsmith. The object weighs 125 grams.