Antique Silver Chalice with Royal Diamonds. France, Circa 1900

Stylish antique solid-silver chalice with hand-engraved decoration, made in France circa 1900. The chalice bears an engraved cross at its foot; the cross is decorated with nine real diamonds, all of them in perfect condition. It comes with a solid-silver paten; both pieces are stored in the original case, signed by the silversmith and quite well preserved too. The chalice and the paten bear the hallmarks that testify for their quality and origin. We can see the mark for antique French silver (a profile of Minerva goddess) and the silversmiths mark too. If we turn the chalice upside down, inside the base we will find an oval mark with the inscription SOCIÉTÉ CATHOLIQUE A. CABARET and the address of such society in Paris. The base is circular in shape and is decorated with a delicate hand-engraved vegetal-inspired fringe. But the most relevant decoration of this chalice is surely the cross adorned with nine embedded real diamonds of between 0,25K and 0.35K. These diamonds are antique and there is no one missing. The cross is inscribed into a diamond shape and marks the front side of the chalice. Over the base, the stem that connects it with the cup is adorned with a circular central node. The node bears a hand-engraved Latin inscription: ERGO SUM VITIS, VOS PALMITES (I am the vine, you [are] the branches). This sentence corresponds to the verse John, 15:5 from the New Testament. The cup that crowns this chalice bears a lean silver base trimmed by an engraved fringe, similar to that of the base. The top part of the cup is made of gold-plated silver. As for the paten, is a simple and elegant piece decorated with a Latin cross. The case designed to store and carry both pieces is greatly preserved; inside we can see a golden inscription reading J. NOUVELLET LYON. The fine and simple design of this antique solid-silver chalice is enhanced by the magnificent diamonds that decorate its base. It is an exclusive piece, worthy of inclusion in the museum of any relevant church or in a good collection of sacred antiques. Measurements: Chalice: Bases Width: 4.72 in / 12 cm. Height: 8.66 in / 22 cm. Cups Width: 3.35 in / 8.5 cm. Paten: 4.92 in / 12.5 cm. Weight: 75 g.