Ciborium
1688-1689
1729-1749 for false bowl
Silver
21 (with cover) x 10.9 cm (at the base)
Hallmarked once on the base, once on the side of the bowl, once inside the cover: an iris crowned and stationed by two beads, TT, a head
Collection: Archdiocese of Québec

The ciborium is a sacred vessel used for storing the consecrated hosts and distributing them during communion. It is composed of a bowl, a false bowl, a cover surmounted by a cross, a base and a stem. Usually made of a precious metal, this one is in silver, and its bowl is lined with gold. The ciborium generally forms a complete set with the chalice and the paten.

Toussaint Testard was a master silversmith in France from as early as 1682. He lived on the Île de la Cité and made religious silver objects and also silverware.

Paul Lambert dit Saint-Paul arrived in New France around 1728, along with other artisans recruited by the colony (opinions vary on this subject). He was the most important and most prolific silversmith in New France in the first half of the 18th century. He was also the first to make a living from his work. His artwork is found in several museums and religious institutions in Québec and Ontario, as well as at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Michigan.

Origin of the raw material: silver

The origin of the raw material, silver, which was used to make the silver pieces is complex. There were no silver mines at this time in New France. The first date back to the 1860s, or more precisely, from 1861, 1865, 1866 and 1870. The silversmiths of New France used the silver pieces already in circulation, either by melting coins, despite the laws banning this, or by melting down old silver pieces to make new ones. It has not been possible to prove that other sources of silver existed at this time. No document mentions the entry of silver ingots into the country from France or from elsewhere in America.
The silversmith François Ranvoyzé, a contemporary of Laurent Amiot, repaired old objects, which he modified considerably without actually melting them down, and he always added his hallmark. By contrast, Laurent Amiot had old silver pieces in poor shape melted down to create new works and provide the parish councils with homogeneous sets.