A Spanish colonial silver-gilt chalice, mark of Antonio Forcada y la Plaza, Mexico city, ca 1800.
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Fully gilded, richly cast and chased decoration, height 23 cm, weight 625 grams. The inside of the base bears an engraved inscription: "del Conto de sn. Sexonimo" for the San Jeronimo Monastery, Mexico City.
Provenance
The Convent of San Jeronimo, Mexico city.
Literature
See: Montero Alarcon, Alma, "El marcaje de la platería novohispana: un estudio de caso", Boletin de monumentos historicos, 3:11, Sep-Dec 2007: p. 148-58; "Antonio Forcada y el orgullo de ser maestro ensayador en la Nueva España", Ophir en las Indias estudios sobre la plata americana, p. 2010: 317-28. Compare a chalice in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art: 33.120.68a.
More information
Antonio Forcada y la Plaza was one of the most important silversmiths during the Viceroyalty period in Mexico. In addition to his career as a frequently commissioned silversmith for various prestigious assignments, he was also the chief assayer for the Mexican Mint.