beaker
Object NameThe Behaim Beaker
Made FromSoda-lime Glass, Gold, Enamel
Dateprobably 1495
Place MadeItaly, Venice
TechniqueBlown, enameled, gilded
SizeOverall H: 10.7 cm; Rim Diam: 7.8 cm; Foot Diam: 6.4 cm
Accession Number84.3.24
Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Museum Endowment Fund
Curatorial Area(s)
Exhibitions
Art and Love in Renaissance Italy
Beyond Venice: Glass in Venetian Style, 1500-1750
The Art of Glass: Masterpieces from The Corning Museum of Glass
Medieval Glass for Popes, Princes, and Peasants
Renaissance Venice: Life and Luxury at the Crossroads
On ViewEuropean Gallery
Interpretive NotesThe Behaim Beaker is a fine example of Venetian cristallo, and it demonstrates how glass from Venice commanded attention abroad. The beaker bears a coat of arms and two panels, each of which contains a figure. The coat of arms belongs to the Behaim family of Nuremberg. One panel depicts the archangel Michael killing a dragon; the other shows Saint Catherine of Alexandria. The unusual combination of Michael and Catherine requires an explanation. It is thought that the beaker was made for the wedding, on July 7, 1495, of Michael IV Behaim of Schwarzbach, then patrician and mayor of the imperial city of Nuremberg, and Catherine Lochner of Nuremberg, the daughter of a rich merchant whose firm controlled trade between Nuremberg and Venice. If this explanation is correct, the Behaim Beaker is an outstanding illustration of fine Venetian glassware custom-made for export to Germany. It also demonstrates two of the features of Venetian glass that attracted widespread attention: the excellence of cristallo and the briliance of the gilded and enameled ornament. The Behaim Beaker appears to be the earliest Venetian gilded and enameled glass that can be dated precisely.
Provenance
Former Collection
Fritz Biemann
- 1984
Former Collection
Robert von Hirsch
- 1978
about 1500
about 1500-1550
1513-1534
possibly 1480-1490