Tankard thumbnail 1
Tankard thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Glass, Room 131

Tankard

1708-35 (made)
Place of origin

The tankard with pewter lid is a typical central European drinking vessel. Such cylindrical vessels in ceramics or glass were specially made to be mounted. The lid is attached to the upper part of the handle and can be opened with the thumb of the hand in which the vessel is held. This opaque blue glass vessel is decorated with a wheel-engraved decoration consisting of a mirror monogram 'JVG' with a crown and two palm sprigs, probably referring to the original owner of the glass.
Two figures of miners flank the central arms. Underneath are a star and a hammer and pick, typical miner’s tools which are often found in heraldry in the Erzgebrige which was an important mining area. The same symbols are repeated on the town-mark on the pewter lid which has been attributed to Ehrenfriedersdorf, a major tin-mining town. The blue colour of this glass was caused by the addition of cobalt oxide to the raw materials while the opaque quality was caused by adding tin-oxide. Both cobalt and tin were extensively mined in the Erzgebrige region which makes it very likely that the original owner was a local, involved in this industry.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
blue glass, engraved and mounted in pewter
Brief description
Tankard, opaque blue glass, engraved, with pewter mount and lid, Germany (Saxony), 1708-35
Physical description
Cylindrical tankard with strap handle, made of opaque blue glass with wheel-engraved decoration with a crowned mirror monogram and crossed hammer and mallet, between two palm branches and two male figures with strapwork underneath. Pewter mount and lid, with town mark for Ehrenfriedersdorf in Saxony and a maker's mark with the date 1708 (or 5 or 6).
The bottom extremity of the handle is missing.
Dimensions
  • Height: 235mm
  • Greatest width width: 155mm
  • Diameter: 110mm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
  • Inscribed 'JVG' in mirror-monogram with three stars and a rose.
  • EFD with hammer and pick and three stars (Both the monogram on the glass and the pewter town mark include a hammer and pick and three stars.)
    Transliteration
    possibly the arms of Ehrenfriedersdorf in the Erzgebirge
  • ICR with anchor and the year 1708 (or 05 or 06) (Unidentified pewter maker's mark)
Gallery label
The engraved decoration includes miners and crossed pick-axes symbolic of the rich ore-producing area of the Erzebirge mountains in Saxony where the tankard was made.
Object history
Transferred from the Museum of Practical Geology, London
Production
The pewter maker's mark has the date 1708 (or 5 or 6) which indicates the date this mark was registered.
Summary
The tankard with pewter lid is a typical central European drinking vessel. Such cylindrical vessels in ceramics or glass were specially made to be mounted. The lid is attached to the upper part of the handle and can be opened with the thumb of the hand in which the vessel is held. This opaque blue glass vessel is decorated with a wheel-engraved decoration consisting of a mirror monogram 'JVG' with a crown and two palm sprigs, probably referring to the original owner of the glass.
Two figures of miners flank the central arms. Underneath are a star and a hammer and pick, typical miner’s tools which are often found in heraldry in the Erzgebrige which was an important mining area. The same symbols are repeated on the town-mark on the pewter lid which has been attributed to Ehrenfriedersdorf, a major tin-mining town. The blue colour of this glass was caused by the addition of cobalt oxide to the raw materials while the opaque quality was caused by adding tin-oxide. Both cobalt and tin were extensively mined in the Erzgebrige region which makes it very likely that the original owner was a local, involved in this industry.
Bibliographic references
  • C. Mosel, Glas: Mittelalter - Biedermeier: Sammlungskataloge dea Kestner-Museums Hannover I, Hannover 1979, p. 104, cat. 133-134 and p. 115, cat. 157, shows a small beaker, also in opaque blue glass (cat. 133) with engraved crowned mirror monogram and date '1732' attributed to Saxony, and a tankard similar to ours, but in clear purple glass with engraved, crowned badge, again, attributed to Saxony.
  • A. Von Saldern, Glas: Antike bis Jugendstil: Die Sammlung im Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, Hamburg, 1995, p. 219, cat 235, Illustrates a very similar mounted tankart (probably blue, but bl/wh picture only) and attributed to Saxony, ca. 1710-30, Inv.Nr.1877.227 The mount is very similar and could be from the same workshop.
Other number
8873 - Glass gallery number
Collection
Accession number
5325-1901

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Record createdDecember 13, 1997
Record URL
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