Solid Silver Chalice, 19th Century.

Lovely set of chalice and paten, both made of first quality solid silver. This religious and artistic set comes from France and is a real antique which dates from the 19th century and made in Paris. The chalices cup has a beautiful gilded inner finish, typical of this kind of pieces. Outside it is completely engraved except for the cup. Every part of this fine chalice is made of silver and all of them bear hallmarks, the same as the paten. The chalice boasts a wonderful engraved decoration which covers the base and the node, and finishes where the cup meets the node. This decoration consists of nice and intricate vegetal motives, which adopt a design of fringes. The front of the base bears a stylized Latin cross intertwined with the vegetal decoration. The engraved pattern depicts grapevine plants with their leaves and bunches of grapes, symbol of the wine which in Eucharist represents Jesus Christs Blood, and that the chalice is designed to contain.The nodes decoration is simpler, almost abstract, and it is performed in the shape of a continuous and symmetrical vegetal pattern. The chalice has several hallmarks in all its parts, and the base bears an engraved inscription: OUVRE DES TABERNACLES. On the other hand, the paten also has hallmarks and in the center there are three big capital letters, engraved in the silver: IHS, the acronym of Jesus Christs name crowned by cross. This inscription is just over the symbol of the Holy Heart. This decoration is beautiful and delicate, and makes of this paten the perfect complement for the wonderful chalice it goes with. This set is as valuable as attractive, and will surely delight any lover of religious antiques. Measurements: Chalice: Width: 130 mm. Height: 220 mm. Paten: 135 mm diameter.