Monumental Episcopal Cross In Vermeil By Jean-charles Cahier

Artist: Jean-Charles Cahier

PARIS, RESTORATION PERIOD

FIRST THIRD OF THE 19TH CENTURY

A significant, monumental episcopal crozier in vermeil—gilded silver—crafted by Jean-Charles Cahier, a Parisian silversmith whose career was closely tied to major religious commissions during the Empire and the Restoration.

The long, detachable shaft is punctuated by molded rings and richly repoussé and chased elements. Notably, it features a fleur-de-lis set within a diamond-shaped medallion, surrounded by palmettes, fleurons, and foliage scrolls.

The upper section is dominated by an imposing multi-tiered knot, composed of godrons, acanthus leaves, and vegetal friezes. The deep relief of the chiseled work alternates with broad polished surfaces, highlighting the gilding and the monumentality of the piece as a whole.

The cross-shank forms a broad spiral volute, the entire surface of which is covered with lanceolate leaves arranged in scales. Its base blossoms into a powerful bouquet of acanthus leaves. The continuity of movement, from the shaft to the center of the volute, gives the crozier an instantly recognizable silhouette.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Jean-Charles Cahier began crafting episcopal croziers for concordat bishops as early as the Consulate. The Diocese of Besançon thus documents the crosier presented in 1802 to Bishop Claude Le Coz as the goldsmith’s first known official work and mentions the creation of several models for the dioceses reorganized after the Concordat.

A crozier seemingly identical to this example is depicted in *The Coronation of Napoleon I*, painted by Jacques-Louis David. It features the same large continuous scroll, the same leaf-like base, and a comparable arrangement of the upper knot.

The same model reappears, with remarkable precision, in the hands of the Archbishop of Reims in depictions of the coronation of Charles X. The preparatory drawing, created by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres for the *Album of the Coronation of Charles X*, folio 15, is now housed in the Department of Graphic Arts at the Louvre Museum.

The composition of the crosseron—its volute, its foliage decoration, its proportions, and the overall architecture of the knot—closely corresponds to this example. These iconographic parallels allow us to link this crosse to one of the major models developed by Cahier, whose use continued from the Empire through the Restoration.

The fleur-de-lis decoration, the quality of the vermeil work, the monumental dimensions, and the dual comparison with the works of David and Ingres lend this crozier major historical and artistic significance.

Vermeil—gilded silver, repoussé and chased.

Hallmarks of Jean-Charles Cahier and first title.

Height: approximately 205 cm

Gross weight: approximately 3,199 g