www.925-1000.com

This sugar bowl is presented on the internet as 18th century French, but there is something that does not convince me.

The master's mark is attributed to a silversmith from Bordeaux, but next to it is the mark of a cannon, which on Tardy is associated with Marseille. Why? I'm missing something.

Then on the edge there is a mark of the boar's head, which is barely seen, but the outline resembles the mark that came into use in 1838, more than the mark of 1744-1750.

Can anyone clarify my doubts?
Thanks
Amena

Hello Amena
I share your doubts about the attribution of this sugar bowl. Some observations:
-The tête de sanglier mark is indeed the mark used for 800 standard silver smalls after 1838. That alone doesn’t bother me too much as items sometimes are marked with a standard mark of later date if resold. However, the purported boar’s head discharge mark from Bordeaux was in use AFTER the dates of activity of the purported maker, so there is no concordance between the maker and discharge marks.
-Yes, the cannon mark is from Marseille. You wouldn’t find a mark from 2 different jurisdictions (Bordeaux and Marseille).
-There are no other visible marks that would help to clarify this attribution in terms of place or date.
-The maker’s mark doesn’t match the illustrated mark of Jean Chastelet in my opinion. First, it looks as if there were more than 2 initials - IC? Second, the maker’s symbol on the bowl doesn’t match the drawing of Chastelet’s mark.
-Finally, the style is more 3rd quarter 18thC France, later than the working dates of the purported maker.

I’d look for an Aix-en-Provence (Marseille) maker for this sugar bowl, such as Jean Clément or Ignace-François-Dominique Colombier.

Regards

hi JayT
thank you very much for the reply.
A very clear and detailed discussion that taught me some interesting things.
Regards
Amena

My pleasure Amena.
Regards.