Paris 1798–1809 – Large solid silver Empire officer’s cup by L. J. BERGER

Important cylindrical officer’s cup in solid silver by the Parisian silversmith Louis-Jacques BERGER.
The plain body ends in a slightly flared rim. The neoclassical handle, of broken profile, is finely engine-turned with a delicate barley-grain pattern.

The purity of line and disciplined ornament exemplify the neoclassical taste of the Consulate and the early Empire.

Hallmarks
• 1st cock, 1st titre – silver 950/1000, Paris, 1798 to 1809
• Paris moyenne garantie mark
• Greek-headed woman with numeral 1, mark of the Association des orfèvres
• Maker’s mark – L J B above a vase for Louis-Jacques BERGER

Dimensions
• Height : 9.5 cm
• Diameter : 8.4 cm
• Width : 10.7 cm

Weight : 178 g of silver

Condition report
Excellent condition. Unpolished surface, free from engraving. Slight fissure near the handle.

Handled cups of this quality were among the luxurious personal table accessories used by officers of the First Empire.
Their restrained outline and subtle engine-turning harmonise with the functional elegance of campaign silver.
Such handled cups are rare, especially in this exceptional state of preservation and unengraved.
The gently flared rim and precision of execution are characteristic of Louis-Jacques BERGER, whose pieces are now prized for their refined proportions and technical rigour.


LOUIS-JACQUES BERGER

Parisian silversmith active at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. His maker’s mark is registered on 15 Floréal An V (4 May 1797).
He first works at 18 Place Thionville, then from 1806 at 2 Rue du Pont-de-Lodi.
Specialising in timbales and related domestic silver, he also produces religious works, notably chalices of remarkable quality.

Nine silver cups by Louis-Jacques BERGER are held in the Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris.
A coffee-pot by his hand is preserved in the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam, and a chalice in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Two campaign cups of Emperor NAPOLEON I, without handles but of identical profile, are recorded.
One of them was shown in the exhibition Quand Bonaparte devint Napoléon and is illustrated in the catalogue edited by Bernard CROISSY.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Archives de la Garantie, Paris, pl. d’insculpation n° 1 and 14
• Archives de la Monnaie, Paris, Registre des délibérations An V to An XI
• Almanach du Commerce 1800, 1805, 1806
• Tableau des fabriquans en matières d’or et d’argent 1804
• ARMINJON J.-P. et al., Dictionnaire des poinçons de l’orfèvrerie française, Paris, 1985
• DOUËT S.-P., Tableau des symboles de l’orfèvrerie de Paris, 1806 and 1809
• BOIVIN J., Les Anciens orfèvres, 1925
• HELFT J., Les Nouveaux poinçons, 1982
• CROISSY B., Quand Bonaparte devient Napoléon, exhibition catalogue, Wasquehal, 2004, cat. 45, p. 45, ill.