French Gilt Ciborium – Silver Cup, Louis XV Period (circa 1740–1760)

French Gilded Ciborium – Silver Bowl, Gilded Copper Base & Lid
Louis XV Period (c. 1740–1760) / Reassembled & Hallmarked Paris, 1803–1809

A rare and historically rich French ciborium, featuring a solid silver, fully fire-gilded bowl mounted on a sculptural gilded copper base and covered with a matching gilded copper lid. This vessel was originally crafted during the Louis XV period (circa 1740–1760) and later reassembled and officially re-hallmarked in Paris between 1803 and 1809, following the Concordat reforms that restored public Catholic worship under Napoleon.

• Bowl: Solid silver (.800 fineness), hand-raised, fire-gilded interior. Hammering and tool marks are consistent with mid-18th-century ecclesiastical silverwork. Re-hallmarked in Paris with:

  • Rooster No. 2 (French First Empire silver standard, .800)

  • "800" decimal fineness mark

  • Paris discharge mark

• Base and Lid: Gilded copper, fabricated and assembled during the early 19th century. Decorated with hand-fluted repoussé work and crowned by a cast cross finial in the Gothic Revival taste, also in gilded copper.

• Cross Finial: Cast and filed by hand, mounted over a globular knop soldered to the lid. Likely added during the early 1800s restoration process.

• Construction: Traditional multi-part altar silver technique with threaded rod and nut joining base and bowl.

• Height: 31.5 cm

• Diameter of bowl: 12.5 cm
  

• Excellent antique condition with minor age-related wear.

• Gilding stable throughout, with warm tone indicative of 18th–early 19th century fire-gilding.

• No significant restorations beyond historical reassembly.

• Tool marks and traces of hand fabrication clearly visible — a mark of authenticity.

This ciborium is a composite sacred vessel, originally created in the mid-18th century and adapted for Napoleonic-era liturgical use. The silver bowl fulfills the canonical requirement for Eucharistic contact, while the copper components reflect economic and practical adjustments common after the French Revolution. Objects of this type — retaining a Louis XV core, post-Revolutionary hallmarks, and authentic fire-gilded finishes — are increasingly scarce on the market.