SILVER CLARET JUG. ANSELMO PRIOR AND MASON. VITORIA, SPAIN, 1816-1846.

Jug. Silver. Anselmo Prior and Mason. Vitoria, Spain, between 1816 and 1846. With contrast markings. Silver jug in its color with a square base that serves as support for the circular foot decorated with a band of eggs and ending in a gallon shape, which gives way to the oval body, engraved with architectural, plant and animal elements; practically tubular neck with band of egg motifs and another at the top of architectural elements, and soft peak; It covers with a swan, and the handle presents a Medusa head in the area where it joins the body, a series of bands of architectural motifs and, creating a curve and towards the mouth, a two-headed snake that seems to intend to attack the bird. Typologically, the jug clearly responds to 19th century neoclassical models both in its lines and in some of its decorative elements (some close to the French school and others more common in the English school), adding to this base some detail more common in Spanish works. . The contrast marks, located at the base of the piece, link its creation in Vitoria, with the faithful contrast called Maison (act. 18th-19th centuries, surely as a faithful contrast in the 19th century) and the silversmith surnamed Prior. Anselmo Prior was a master dated between 1816 and 1846. There is evidence of a head reliquary marked by both of the Eleven Thousand Virgins in the parish church of Alegría (Álava, Spain). Weight: 992 grams.

· Size: 15x12x30 cms