Louis XVI votive cup; Mackay & Chisholm, Edinburgh, c. 1780-1790.

Louis XVI votive cup; MACKAY & CHISHOLM, Edinburgh, c. 1780- 1790.
Gilt silver.
Presents punches.
Measurements: 54 x 42 x 23 cm.
Weight: 4.900 grams.
Ornamental cup of classicist style, whose forms are inspired by the Louis XVI style. They consist of an ovoid bronze vessel decorated with relief appliqués, also in gilded bronze, cast in mold with cold chiseled details. They consist of a base, typically of the style, round and smooth, and on it is placed directly the foot, composed of a tight laurel wreath, worked with the synthetic and refined style typical of the time. The bronze ornamentation stands out especially for the quality of the chisel work, which reproduces with great expressiveness the texture of the leaves. On the ovoid shape of the body there is an intermediate neck that forms the union with the vessel, ovoid following classicist models, and the side handles are also noteworthy.
The combination of these apparently disparate elements is, however, effective at the expressive level, and manages to maintain the classical rigor while leaving room for the ornamental fantasy so much to the taste of the bourgeois clientele of the second half of the nineteenth century. The French Louis XVI style is included within Neoclassicism. The decorative elements, as already indicated, are classicist in inspiration, but the curves and sinuosities of the rococo of Louis XV have not disappeared, although they are secondary.