A lovely French antique silver wine tasting cup

PHOTOS REQUIRED - marks + item
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amena
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A lovely French antique silver wine tasting cup

Post by amena »

Thus describes the seller a tastevin that carries this mark.
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which, always the seller, classifies as
Stamped with the leaf in a circle with a number 4 of which indicate silver to the date of 1787.
I looked for this mark on Tardy, but I didn't find it.
And it also seems strange to me that there are no other marks.
Any opinion?
Thanks for attention
Amena
JayT
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Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 1:45 pm

Re: A lovely French antique silver wine tasting cup

Post by JayT »

Hello Amena
You seem to be drawn to wine tasters with dubious marks like a moth to a flame!
Yes, you're right that there should be 4 marks on pre-Revolutionary silver. What you see is a Paris discharge mark. It doesn’t indicate - as the seller claims - that the wine taster is silver, but rather that tax has been discharged (paid). The silver standard mark isn’t shown.
Based on a very close-up picture of the mark, the object appears cast and not hand forged. What do you think?
Regards
JayT
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Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 1:45 pm

Re: A lovely French antique silver wine tasting cup

Post by JayT »

P.S.
If you use the search function with the term “leaf discharge” you’ll find other examples of this mark.
amena
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Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:42 am

Re: A lovely French antique silver wine tasting cup

Post by amena »

Hi JayT
many thanks for the information.
Frankly, without your help I would never have recognized the correspondence of the mark on the tastevin with the number 131 of the Tardy.
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It is not that I am attracted to suspicious tastevins, it is that, to learn, I look very often at auctions of silver objects, and when I find something that makes me suspicious I ask for help here from those who know.
To return to the tastevin, I believe that it is genuine and that the handle,original or made after, has been badly soldered to it.
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Perhaps the other marks have been swamped by the weld.
Best regards
Amena
P.S. Searching with "leaf discharge" nothing is found
instead it is found with "poincon feuille décharge"
JayT
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Posts: 930
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 1:45 pm

Re: A lovely French antique silver wine tasting cup

Post by JayT »

Hello Amena
I applaud your desire always to thoroughly research your silver objects.
Thanks for the bigger picture, and your opinion about the weld.
Regards.
bijoux.expert
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Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2022 10:37 am
Location: Paris, France

Re: A lovely French antique silver wine tasting cup

Post by bijoux.expert »

I just thought I'd mention that these cups, usually called tastevin or wine tasting cups, were used in the past for drinking anything, not just wine.
In the old days, when you went to a friend's house or a wedding, or even an inn to eat you had to bring your own cutlery and cup. Men would carry these cups in their pockets and you can understand why a flat shape was much more practical. Women had a more traditional beaker-shaped cup or glass they would use, at home or outside.
Later, these men's drinking cups became associated with wine tasting, and their flat shape is said to help in determining the colour of the wine, but that's not their original function.
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