Covered Beaker thumbnail 1
Covered Beaker thumbnail 2
Not on display

Covered Beaker

ca. 1465-1485 (made)

Covered beaker, gilded silver, enamelled, Germany, ca. 1465-1485

Object details

Object type
Covered beaker
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Beaker
  • Lid
Materials and techniques
Silver-Gilt
Enamel
Enamelling
Brief description
Covered beaker, gilded silver, enamelled, Germany, ca. 1465-1485
Gallery label
(Pre-2000)
BEAKER AND COVER
Silver, parcel-gilt
Formerly in the Treasury of Basle Cathedral.
SOUTH GERMAN; late 15th century.
From the Soltikoff Collection
2112-1855.
COVERED BEAKER
Silver gilt, with enamelled coats of arms on the knop
Swiss (Basle); about 1465-1485
Formerly in the Treasury of Basle Cathedral
The arms depicted are those of Ulrich zum Luft (b.1429; d.1485), councillor of the city of Basle, and those of his wife Magdalena Eberler zum Gruenzweig (b.1450; d.1491). Ulrich zum Luft's father was a goldsmith and financier, and it is possible that the beaker is his work. Ulrich's son, Dr Arnold zum Luft, gave the beaker to the Treasury of Basle Cathedral, where he was a canon. According to the 1585 inventory of the Basle Treasury, the beaker stood on a gilt wood base on the high altar, possibly with relics inside it. Such re-use of pieces made originally for secular purposes was quite common.
With the rest of the Basle Treasure, the beaker was hidden in a cellar in about 1529, at the time of the Reformation, and remained there until 1827. When found, it was all transferred to the Town Hall, and eventually auctioned in 1836.
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
2112:2-1855

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Record createdApril 27, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O111558/covered-beaker/
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