Calice
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-313-21
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Pierre Germain’s 1748 print *Cal* offers a refined glimpse into mid-eighteenth-century French decorative arts. As a leading silmith working in Paris during the reign of Louis XV, Germain belonged to a generation of craftsmen who blended functionality with elegant ornament. The print, now preserved in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, likely records one of his designs for a chalice, allowing the details of form and decoration to be studied and reproduced by other artisans. Prints such as this played a vital role in disseminating artistic ideas across Europe. Rather than remaining a single o...