Offered by Nathan Uzal - Deco
The black marble base has two cartouches, one inscribed with 'PRIX d'HONNEUR ESPÈCE CHEVALINE', the other 'MINISTÈRE de l'AGRICULTURE CONCOURS RÉGIONAL AGRICOLE DE NIORT 1882'.
An similar cup is illustrated in Henri Bouilhet, "L’Orfèvrerie Française aux XVIIIème et XIXème siècle", Paris, 1912, p. 69, presented as the "Vase executed for the Grand Prix de Paris in 1867, offered by the Emperor Napoleon III".