Ciborium By Jean-joseph Lacoste, Master Goldsmith In Rodez, Late 18th Century

Solid silver ciborium gilded with fine gold (vermeil), resting on a richly decorated circular base, the cup surmounted by a domed lid decorated with a summit cross. The interior is entirely gilded, preserving the sacred aspect and the protection of the Blessed Sacrament. This ciborium bears the hallmark of Jean-Joseph Lacoste, master goldsmith in Rodez from 1776 to 1797, a major figure in religious goldsmithing in Aveyron. His liturgical works are particularly rare on the market today: the majority of known Lacoste ciboria are listed and classified as Historic Monuments, testifying to the importance of his workshop in provincial goldsmithing at the end of the Ancien Régime. Designed to preserve consecrated hosts for the communion of the faithful, this type of object was essential to Catholic worship and was the subject of prestigious orders by rural parishes or cathedral chapters. The style combines sobriety and neoclassical elegance, typical of the 1780s-1790s, a period when Rodez, although a provincial town, still had a small body of goldsmiths who mastered the art of silver gilt. Note: visible welds