Absolutely exquisite antique French hallmarked sterling silver & cut glass 12.5" 36oz claret jug, beautifully ornate with Louis XVI Classical or Empire styling including acanthus accents and likely Baccarat wheel cut glass or crystal body! Sure seems like it's been a while since we had a great old French sterling silver claret jug so, here you go! Serpentine handle, foliate finial and acanthus throughout. The body is thick glass or crystal, likely Baccarat but no markings there so we're unsure! All of the separate silver parts bear the French Minerve or Minerva hallmark, the tiny number "1" within those marks means they are in .950 silver (95% pure and higher than the .925 standard for "sterling" silver). The silversmith marks are for Alphonse Debain, a notable French silversmith that competed with names like Odiot and Puiforcat. A beautiful piece, just in from France and as fine as can be.
Very good to excellent condition. For its 100 or so years, this one is really pristine. Possibly a tiny nip or two to the cut glass body but I see no larger chips, cracks, damage or repairs. The silver also pristine. See images for all measurements.
