Gignac Circa 1715 Silver Cup With Handles

An 18th-century silver cup with handles. It rests on a plain base, the handles formed of beaded dragons or serpents. It is divided in half by an applied band engraved at the bottom with the coat of arms under a knight's helmet of the MOLY(De) family, originally from Rouergue. Hallmarks most likely from the town of Gignac around 1715-1720 (jurisdiction of Montpellier) by the silversmith Michel REBOUL, registered in 1711. Weight 133 grams. Extremely rare, only a few examples are known. The De Moly family, lords of Les Ondes, Cadayrac, Maleville, and Billorgues (Château de Billorgues, in Salles-la-Source, Aveyron), were a family from Ceignac near Rodez, who provided magistrates to the presidial court and officers in the King's armies. At the beginning of the 18th century, the family split into two branches: the Ondes branch (Cadayrac and Maleville) and the Billorgues branch. The Maleville branch was ennobled on May 17, 1715, while the Billorgues branch descends from Marie-Joseph de Moly, the King's prosecutor at the Rodez seneschal's court.