tankard
Object NameBöttger Stoneware Tankard
Made FromStoneware, silver
Dateabout 1710-1712
TechniqueThrown, wheel-cut, engraved; silver mounts raised, chased, punched, engraved, gilded
SizeOverall H (max): 22.4 cm, W (max): 14 cm; Base Diam: 11.6 cm
Accession Number57.7.15
Credit LineGift of Edwin J. Beinecke
Curatorial Area(s)
Exhibitions
The Decorative Cutting of Glass
Glass of the Alchemists: Lead Crystal-Gold Ruby, 1650–1750
Steins and Related Drinking Vessels
Interpretive NotesThis ceramic tankard was cut and polished by craftsmen skilled in cutting gemstones. It was made at the court of Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland (1670-1733). Decorated by craftsmen skilled in cutting gemstones.
Saxony, Meissen
Tankard with straight-sided cylindrical body and stepped base; applied flat handle. Above base and below rim, rows of cut and polished roundels, bordered by engraved arches, with tassels on top and trefoils at bottom. Applied silver foot-ring, cramped, with trefoils at base. On back of handle, applied silver mount engraved with acanthus leaves and attached to hinge with spherical thumb-rest for lid. Lid is domed and chased with frieze of scrollwork, and its top has been cut out to hold tarnished silver
medal with portraits of Duke Johann Georg of Sachsen-Weissenfels (r. 1697–1712) and his wife, Friederica Elisabeth. Circumscription reads: “DG·IOH.GEORG. ET FRIDERICA ELISAB·DVX ET DVC
SAXICMA ET W.” Inside lid, reverse shows emblem of the couple: obelisk adorned with branches (ivy?) and monogram “JGFE.” Above, hand from out of clouds holds crown. Plinth is inscribed “VOT. PVB.,”
and medal is circumscribed “VIRESCENT SEC[V]LIS INNVMERABILIBVS” (They flourish [become green] for innumerable centuries). Some chipping, which is particularly significant above handle and on
edges of polished decoration below rim. Gilding has been worn away. Black tarnish of silver medal may have been intentional.
Provenance
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