French silversmith identification

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amena
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Posts: 1305
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:42 am

French silversmith identification

Post by amena »

I ask for help to identify the silversmith.
Image
I can not get better pictures, unfortunately.
Thanks for the attention
Regards
Amena
blakstone
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Joined: Wed Apr 26, 2006 3:05 am

Re: French silversmith identification

Post by blakstone »

Tricky, since it’s not from Paris, but France’s second-largest metropolitan area: Lyon.

The mark is “ACS” with a bee, that of Armand-Calliat Soeurs [Armand-Calliat Sisters] of 18 Montée de Gourguillon, Lyon, Rhône: silversmiths known for their eccesiastical wares and with an interesting history.

Upon the death of silversmith François-Philibert Marie Calliat (1798-1851), his firm was continued for three years as Calliat Soeurs by his two daughters, Jeanne Calliat (1827-1897) and Louise-Nicole Calliat (1828-1881), though they were almost certainly not trained silversmiths.

On 16 Aug 1853, Jeanne married Thomas-Joseph Armand (1822-1901), who joined the company which thus became Armand-Calliat Soeurs, reistering its mark on 7 Nov 1854. The firm remained so named until 1892 (even though sister Louise-Nicole Calliat apparently withdrew from the firm upon her 1856 marriage to Joseph Clément Vanel.)

The name changed to Armand-Calliat et Fils in 1892 with the addition of Jeanne and Thomas-Joseph’s son Marie-Joseph Armand-Calliat (1862-1938), and then simply to Armand-Calliat Fils in 1901 after Thomas-Joseph Armand’s death. They company used the same mark throughout and until 1907, when Marie-Joseph Armand-Calliat registered a new mark: “AC” with a bee. The company continued, through various successions, until 1967.

The mark was used for over fifty years - from 1854 to 1907 - so narrowing the date any more would be impossible without the stylistic clues that an image of the piece might provide.

Hoope this helps!

Ref: Maryannick Chalabi & Marie-Reine Jazé-Charvolin, Poinçons des Fabricants d'Ouvrages d'Or et d'Argent Lyon,1798-1940 (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale , 1993), p. 93, mark 46 (augmented by primary documents from the Lyon Civil Archives)
amena
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Posts: 1305
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:42 am

Re: French silversmith identification

Post by amena »

Hi Blackstone
Congratulations, as usual you have fully hit the target.
It is actually a set of chalice and paten belonging to the diocese of Bologna.
Thanks again for such a complete and detailed information.
Amena
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