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Priming Flask Bearing the Monograms and Arms of the Prince-Elector August I of Saxony (reigned 1553–86) and Anna of Denmark (reigned 1553–85)

ca. 1575
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 375
This finely worked flask is chiseled with the arms of Saxony and Denmark, and the monogram AA for August I of Saxony and his wife Anna of Denmark. In the center is a depiction of the Sacrifice of Isaac, a story from the Old Testament. The flask was seized by the Nazis from the collection of Baron Alphonse Mayer Rothschild (1878–1942) in Vienna in 1938 and restituted by the government of Austria to his heirs in 1949.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Priming Flask Bearing the Monograms and Arms of the Prince-Elector August I of Saxony (reigned 1553–86) and Anna of Denmark (reigned 1553–85)
  • Date: ca. 1575
  • Geography: probably Saxony
  • Culture: German, probably Saxony
  • Medium: Iron, gold, silver, silk
  • Dimensions: H. 5 1/6 in. (13.5 cm); Diam. 3 1/2 in. (9 cm); Wt. 9 oz. (258 g)
  • Classification: Firearms Accessories-Flasks & Primers
  • Credit Line: Gift of Bernice and Jerome Zwanger, 2008
  • Object Number: 2008.638.1
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

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Powder Flask and Wheellock Spanner Made for the Bodyguard of the Prince-Elector of Saxony, Brass, gold, steel, wood, velvet, gold-threaded cord, German, Saxony
Powder Flask and Wheellock Spanner Made for the Bodyguard of the Prince-Elector of Saxony
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Belt Carrier with Powder Flask and Pouch for Chargers, Velvet, metallic thread, leather, boxwood, bronze, gold, German, Saxony
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