Saumur 1736–1738, Solid Silver Curon, Joseph II Viau, Goblet-shaped Timbale

Solid silver goblet known as a “curon”—Joseph II Viau, Saumur, circa 1736–1738

A solid silver goblet, without a handle or base, featuring a plain body with flared sides and a slightly open rim. The lower part tapers to a flat bottom. The simplicity of the decoration highlights the proportions and the metalwork.

This model belongs to the type of goblets known as “curons,” also referred to as “culs ronds.”

The underside bears the hallmark of Joseph II Viau, known as “the Elder,” consisting of the initials I and V separated by a dot, beneath a crowned S. It is accompanied by the Saumur guild hallmark—a crowned letter M, corresponding to the period around 1736–1738—and fiscal hallmarks, including a crowned serpent.

Joseph II Viau (1681–1760) was the son of goldsmith Joseph Viau and Jeanne Guillot. Trained in his father’s workshop, he was admitted as a master in Saumur on May 24, 1710. He served on several occasions as a juré-garde of the guild, notably around 1715–1716, in 1728, and in 1734. In 1727, he in turn took his son Joseph on as an apprentice for eight years.

Signs of age and a visible crack along the rim.

Weight: 50 g
Height: 6 cm
Diameter at the opening: 7 cm

Bibliography: Monique Jacob et al., *Les orfèvres d’Anjou et du bas Maine*, Paris, Éditions du patrimoine, 1998, entry “Viau Joseph II, known as ‘l’Aîné’.”