At a consignment shop, I found this French taste vin or sommelier cup. It has the first Minerva mark, so it's 950 sterling, and I acid tested it, to confirm. So here is the Minerva mark. There is a number 1 next to her forehead. Above is the mark on the handle. The maker's mark is stamped on top of Minerva. You can see the lozenge shape with an E over the side of her head. I'm not sure who the maker is. One web site says it is Ernest Prost, but another website gives conflicting information, so I can't be sure. Compared to other similar ones I've seen, the style looks like late 19th century. What do you all think?
sooo, refreshed by a further mushroom for my breakfast - Bio of course and from a hidden place on the Jura crests - I see an E that stands for the bureau de contrôle français in Charleville , probably today's Charleville- Mézières. the village of Landreville is also a place for wine and champagne. 1838 - 1879, quite old it seems.
Lovely. And thank you. I've walked past several of these at car boot sales thinking they were ashtrays. Will take a closer look next time!
This is my second taste vin cup. I found another at a yard sale two years ago. At that time, I thought it was a porridger, which is a common mistake. This time, I knew what I was looking at!
Thanks @Fid, for your input. This is the first piece of French silver I have found, so I am very happy and pleased that your assessment places it earlier than I had hoped!
I'm gonna drink some cheap wine out of it later, just for fun! (Or maybe some Canadian Club, just for you)
a porringer is not soooooo wrong, because you spit or let the rest of the vine flow into it to empty it into a bucket before you try the next sample.
Nice find. I have a silver tastevin I need to post here sometime. French silver tends to be pretty desirable/pricey. Probably why I don’t have much either. Great for flipping if you can find it cheap though! I did score a couple sweet Odiot pieces last year that I love.
that's probably why there are one-to-one copies which are chrome-plated tole and marked with fake stuff; more and more showing up on fleamarkets.
The lozenge shaped stamp is supposed to be the mark of the silversmith. But I can't clearly see the whole stamp, so I cant be sure who made it.
Haha! I’m hoarding mine and the Odiot pieces I mentioned too. Well the Odiot I may list at stupid money and see if it comes, but I plan on hoarding otherwise. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I intend to sell most of what I buy and hoard a good amount of it in the end.
although not my taste Odiot is a safe bet to keep its value; the older the better. perhaps an aspect that is a bit neglected these days.
