Jug with portraits of Emperor Charles V (1500–1558) and Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous (1503–1554), elector of Saxony
Adorned with the likenesses of a Catholic emperor and Protestant elector, this detailed jug showcases the connections between common entertainments and Reformation politics. The dancing piper and drummer that flank Adam and Eve were symbols of revolt derived from anti-Catholic prints that circulated during the 1525 Peasants’ War, the largest uprising in Europe prior to the French Revolution of 1789. The painted arms of the Imhoff family of Nuremberg on the front were added later. This work was seized from Oscar Bondy (d. 1944) by Nazi officials in 1938 in Vienna and restituted to his widow, Elisabeth Bondy, in 1948.
Artwork Details
- Title: Jug with portraits of Emperor Charles V (1500–1558) and Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous (1503–1554), elector of Saxony
- Maker: Workshop of Paul Preuning (German, active 1540–1550)
- Date: ca. 1547–50
- Culture: German, Nuremberg
- Medium: Lead-glazed earthenware, some tin-glaze
- Dimensions: Height: 19 13/16 in. (50.3 cm)
- Classification: Ceramics-Pottery
- Credit Line: Gift of R. Thornton Wilson, in memory of Florence Ellsworth Wilson, 1954
- Object Number: 54.147.50
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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Paul Preuning
second half 16th century
Paul Preuning
ca. 1550
German, Nuremberg
ca. 1530
German
1580–90
German
1580–90
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