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Tankard

late 16th century
Not on view
The decoration is an example par excellence of the influence of Arabic ornaments on Hungarian goldsmiths’ work. The etched Moresque motifs were distributed through pattern books throughout Europe (I. Gerelyes. "Islamic Influences in the 16th and 17th Century, Hungarian Metalwork" in Folia Archaeologica XLIV (1995), pp. 206–7, figs. 11, 12; Stefano Carboni, ed., Venice and the Islamic World, 828-1797. New York, 2007). One of the great masters of ornamental inventions with Ottoman prototypes was Virgil Solis (Ilse O’Dell-Franke. Kupferstiche und Radierungen aus der Werkstatt des Virgil Solis. Wiesbaden, 1977).The lid of this tankard incorporates a thaler, struck in Kremnica, Slovakia, in 1554. The thaler (from the German thal, or valley) was a silver coin first minted in Bohemia and Saxony around 1518. The term was adapted later in the United States as the dollar. The sides of the vessel are etched with strapwork and arabesque foliage that recalls Ottoman saz patterns.

Literature
Judit H. Kolba. Hungarian Silver: The Nicolas M. Salgo Collection. London, 1996, p. 32, no. 10.

References
Elemér Kőszeghy. Magyarországi ötvösjegyek a középkortól 1867-ig / Merkzeichen der Goldschmiede Ungarns vom Mittelalter bis 1867. Budapest, 1936, possibly variant of no. 1366 [maker’s mark].

[Wolfram Koeppe 2015]

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Tankard
  • Date: late 16th century
  • Culture: Hungarian, possibly Nagyszben
  • Medium: Silver, partly gilded
  • Dimensions: Height: 5 1/8 in. (13 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Silver
  • Credit Line: Gift of The Salgo Trust for Education, New York, in memory of Nicolas M. Salgo, 2010
  • Object Number: 2010.110.80
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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