A Parisian Empire silver communion garniture
Comprising two pitchers and a navette form tray. Decorated with Neoclassical relief ornament, the finial of the wine pitcher formed as a bunch of grapes, that of the water pitcher as a shell. The rim of the tray embellished with plaques depicting the Evangelists made by the Parisian medal caster Jean-Pierre Montagny, signed “MONTAGNY F(ECIT)”. H of jug 16.7 ; L of tray 30.5; W 19.5 cm, weight 1,188 g.
Marks of Jean-Charles Cahier, c. 1820; the reliefs by Jean-Pierre Montagny
Jean-Charles Cahier was one of the most important French silversmiths of the 19th century. After training under Napoleon's court goldsmith Martin-Guilleaume Biennais, he passed his master's examination in 1802 and soon began receiving commissions from the French court. In 1821, he finally took over Biennais' workshop and held the title of court goldsmith to Kings Louis XVIII and Charles X. In addition to his work for the court, he also executed significant ecclesiastical commissions; the French Register of Historical Church Silver lists 86 pieces bearing his mark, most notably reliquaries, baptismal fonts, and processional crosses. His most famous work is probably the reliquary of the Crown of Thorns in the silver chamber of Notre Dame de Paris, commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 and designed by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
Provenance
From the estate of a diplomat from the Rhineland.