Pewter Wine Pitcher - Argentan, 18th Century

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Beautiful pewter pitcher, known as a “swan-neck” pitcher, with a baluster shape, long neck, and flared rim, featuring a lid with a thumbhole and tassels.
Hallmark: Crowned C / 1691 / (ARG)ENTAN.
Height: 30.2 cm.
ARGENTAN, very late 17th century or first half of the 18th century

Bibliographie : « Les étains normands » de Jean-Claude Commenchal, en vente dans cette galerie.

A piece of rare provenance in very good condition; however, a small crack on the lid is noted.
No other hallmark date is known for this center, which used the 1691 hallmark for much of the 18th century. It is therefore not possible to precisely date objects bearing this hallmark. Argentan is not, in fact, the only center that failed to comply with the royal edict of 1691 establishing this hallmark.
It is worth noting that these pitchers served as wine measures during the Ancien Régime.
The capacity of those used in inns, taverns, etc., was supposed to be periodically inspected by royal or ecclesiastical authorities to ensure “fair measure” for the consumer, but in fact, this regulation was rarely enforced, and pitchers bearing calibration hallmarks are quite rare. The metric system emerged at the very beginning of the 19th century and took several decades to become established due to resistance to change from users, but little by little these uniform cylindrical measures eventually replaced the pitchers, which, it is true, a variety of interesting shapes characteristic of their place of manufacture, but also an infinite number of different capacities from one city to another and often even from one village to another, no matter how close they were. This significantly complicated trade.
There was, however, one rule common to the entire territory: The capacity of the “POT” determined those of the smaller measures, each of which was successively half the capacity of the previous one.

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GUARANTEE

Former professor at IDETH (Institute for Technical and Historical Studies of Art Objects)
Former professor at the EAC (School of Art and Communication)
Former member of the UFE (French Union of Experts)

As an expert specializing in pewter for over 40 years, I guarantee the authenticity of the object described above. A detailed descriptive invoice accompanied by a photograph will be provided to the buyer upon request.

PAYMENT

- By French check payable to COMMENCHAL Jean-Claude
- By bank transfer payable to COMMENCHAL Jean-Claude
IBAN: FR76 3002 7160 2700 0206 4620 173
BIC: CMCIFRPP

SHIPPING

Shipped to France via “Colissimo” or “Mondial Relay” with tracking within a maximum of 48 hours. Registered mail and insurance available upon request. Postal shipping is free to mainland France.
Shipping worldwide via registered “Colissimo” or “Mondial Relay.” Insurance available upon request. 
To find out the shipping costs to Europe or worldwide, click on “Shop Online” and select your country, or contact me by email.

ASK A QUESTION

French-speaking buyers: by phone or email.
Non-French-speaking buyers: by email only.

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