Pitcher. Silver. Hallmark Probably Francisco De Arenas. Cadiz, Spain, 1761.

Pitcher. Silver. Hallmark probably Francisco de Arenas. Cadiz, Spain, 1761.
With contrast marks and engravings.
Made of silver, this pitcher has an oval base that rises flat to a molding with vertical lines. This molding is curved, and the same undulations continue along the body of the piece. The twisted handle is adorned with scroll finials. The lid echoes the lines of the body and is surmounted by a vegetal motif, also found near the handle. The spout, curved outwards, features a relief decoration of a mascaron with architectural and vegetal motifs of classical influence. The base features a series of hallmarks surrounding the engraved mark, which can be identified as that of the city of Cádiz, a chronological mark (1761), an initial (B), and another that may be related to Francisco Arenas or de Arenas, a Cádiz assayer (originally from Granada) who practiced as a trusted assayer between 1737 and 1771, the year of his death. Two hallmarks are associated with him (one probably used until 1757 and the other from that year onward, "ARE/NAS"). He also worked as a metal assayer for the Mint and the Royal Mint. Its mark can be found, for example, on a chalice dating from around 1750 and another from around 1780 in Santa María la Coronada de San Roque (Gibraltar), a ewer in the parish church of Realejo Bajo (Canary Islands, Spain) dating from the 1760s, and on repairs to the processional float of the Virgen del Carmen in Cádiz.
Weight: 1076 grams. Dimensions: 18.5 x 9 x 25.5 cm