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Tankard

ca. 1850 (made), 1856 (altered)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Erbach im Odenwald (made)
England (altered)

This ivory tankard is engraved with putti and horses. The style of the ivory carving is reminiscent of François Duquesnoy, but, like Mus. no. 207-1874, the carving is clumsy in places, and the ivory was almost certainly carved in the nineteenth century in southern Germany, perhaps Erbach im Odenwald, where the ivory industry thrived at that date. The mounts would have been added in Britain.


Object details

Categories
Drinking
Sculpture
Household Objects
Tableware & Cutlery
SCRAN
Object type
Tankard
Materials and techniques
Carved ivory with silver gilt mounts
Ivory
Silver
Gold
Carving
Gilding
Brief description
Tankard, ivory and silver-gilt mounts, decorated with putti and horses, probably Germany (Erbach im Odenwald), ca. 1850, the mounts were added in Britain
Physical description
This tankard shows putti and horses with one hunting dog around the drum, and two sleeping putti and bunches of grapes on the lid around a strange central decorative element reminiscent of auricular ornament. The upper rim of the mounts has an English hallmark of 1856.
Dimensions
  • Whole height: 15.2cm
  • Ivory drum height: 8.7cm
  • Of tankard diameter: 15.2cm
Marks and inscriptions
English hallmark for 1856 (on the upper rim of the mounts)
Object history
Bought in 1874 from the Webb Collection.
Subjects depicted
Putti
Horses (Animals)
Dog
Grapes
Summary
This ivory tankard is engraved with putti and horses. The style of the ivory carving is reminiscent of François Duquesnoy, but, like Mus. no. 207-1874, the carving is clumsy in places, and the ivory was almost certainly carved in the nineteenth century in southern Germany, perhaps Erbach im Odenwald, where the ivory industry thrived at that date. The mounts would have been added in Britain.
Associated object
207-1874 (Version)
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington, Acquired During the Year 1874, Arranged According to the Dates of Acquisition. London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., pp., 15-16
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. London: Published under the Authority of the Board of Education, 1927-1929, Part II, p. 91
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013 p. 440
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, p. 440, cat. no. 477
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
206-1874

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Record createdOctober 29, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O106896/tankard-unknown/
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