Pewter Pitcher - Apt, 18th Century

MY PRICES INCLUDE SHIPPING WITHIN METROPOLITAN FRANCE

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Extremely rare pewter pitcher with a shoulder, flared base, straight-sided cup, and tasseled thumb ring, decorated with grooves and raised bands.
Unidentified master’s mark: sword scabbard / C.T.
Height: 22.2 cm.
APT, 18th century

Exceptional provenance; the only example encountered in nearly 50 years of dealing in pewter.
In good condition; however, two impacts on the body and a repair on the bottom are noted.
The hallmark, which is very legible, incorporates the elements of the city’s coat of arms, which are: “Gules, a gold sword placed pal in its sable scabbard, with a gold buckle, the scabbard tip also in gold.”
These pitchers served as wine measures during the Ancien Régime. The capacity of those used—as is the case with this example—in inns, taverns, etc., was supposed to be periodically inspected by royal or ecclesiastical authorities to ensure “fair measure” for the consumer; however, in reality, this regulation was rarely enforced, and pitchers bearing calibration marks 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 region: The capacity of the POT determined those of the smaller measures, each of which was successively half the capacity of the previous one.

Bibliography:
"Les pichets d'étain" by Charles Boucaud
“ *Tin Pottery in France* by Roger Verdier
“Tin Potters of the Old Languedoc and Roussillon” by René Richard

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To access my tutorials on pewter, visit my website:
http://www.commenchal-expert-etains.com/

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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 item 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 tracked “Colissimo” within a maximum of 48 hours. Registered mail and insurance available upon request. Postage is free for shipments to metropolitan France.
Shipped worldwide via “Colissimo” registered mail. Insurance available upon request.
To find out shipping costs to Europe or worldwide, click “Buy 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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