Drinking vessels, 16th-17th century

In this post, I would like to collect those Hungarian / Transylvanian drinking vessels that were created in the 16th-17th century. These late Renessaince pieces of treasure are usually scattered all over the world, in several museums. It means, that many cups, goblets, beakers, and glasses are going to be added to this article, usually with the description given by the particular museum.

Drinking Vessel in the Form of a Hussar, around 1582

The Kunstkammer of Ferdinand II of Tyrol contains various objects that are closely connected with the archduke. These include his portrait in wax, his seal stamp, and the drinking vessel showing his son and heir Karl of Burgau as a Hussar. Ferdinand himself is believed to have made the somewhat unsuccessful lidded glass beaker. It was surely given the especially precious gold and jeweled mount for this reason.

This gilded silver vessel was made by Johann Zechel in Innsbruck. Dimensions: Height: 53,3 cm, Length: 25 cm

It can be seen in Vienna, Austria, in the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

Footed beaker, the second part of the 16th century

Maker: Attributed to Paulus Brölfft (active 1574–1602); Culture: Hungarian / German Saxon, Nagyszeben (Sibiu, Hermannstadt in Transylvania); Medium: Silver, partially gilded; Dimensions: Overall: 7 15/16 x 3 1/4 in. (20.2 x 8.2 cm); Metropolitan Museum

In terms of silver content, one of these beakers was considered equal to ten of the Show-Thaler coins, though their overall value is amplified by ornament and craftsmanship. Just like the northern counties of the Kingdom of Hungary, Transylvania supplied much of Europe’s silver and gold at the time. Alchemists regarded silver as the moon’s metal, imbued with magic powers. It was also the currency of cash, in particular the Thaler: a coin minted throughout sixteenth-century Europe. In an era marked by the constant threat of war, precious silver vessels were literally worth their weight in currency—easily melted down in times of need.

Footed beaker, late 16th century

Culture: Transylvanian Saxon, Nagyszeben (Sibiu, Hermannstadt)

Medium: Silver, partially gilded

Dimensions: Height: 9 13/16 in. (24.9 cm)

Classification: Metalwork-Silver

In terms of silver content, one of these beakers was considered equal to ten of the Show-Thaler coins, though their overall value is amplified by ornament and craftsmanship. Transylvania, part of Royal Hungary before 1570, supplied much of Europe’s silver and gold at the time. Alchemists regarded silver as the moon’s metal imbued with magic powers. It was also the currency of cash, in particular, the Thaler: a coin minted throughout sixteenth-century Europe. In an era marked by the constant threat of war, precious silver vessels were literally worth their weight in currency—easily melted down in times of need.

(It is on display in the Metropolitan Museum.)

A Tankard from Nagyszeben, late 16th century

The decoration is an example of par excellence of the influence of Arabic ornaments on Hungarian goldsmiths’ work. The etched Moresque motifs were distributed through pattern books throughout Europe. One of the great masters of ornamental inventions with Ottoman prototypes was Virgil Solis.

Tankard, late 16th century

The lid of this tankard incorporates a thaler, struck in Körmöcbánya (now 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 vessel’s sides are etched with strapwork and arabesque foliage that recalls Ottoman saz patterns.

Tankard, late 16th century

Tankard is Hungarian, possibly from Nagyszeben, Transylvania.

Silver, parcel gilt; Overall: 5 1/8 in. (13 cm) Unidentified maker’s mark: AK
It is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, presently not in view. Credit Line: Gift of The Salgo Trust for Education, New York, in memory of Nicolas M. Salgo, 2010.

A set of 5 cups, 1620

These silver cups are from Transylvania, their creator was Simon Berwert, a Saxon master from Nagyszeben. Splayed cylindrical forms the beakers are engraved with slightly stylized leaves and floral decoration. There is one cover for the set the cast finial is in the form of a standing putto. Marked with maker’s sign. They are on display in the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest.

Dimensions: height: 18 cm; base diameter: 4 cm; diameter: 6 cm; weight: 400 g

Footed beaker, mid-17th century

Maker: Franciscus Rether (active 1634–84, master 1635)

Date: mid-17th century

Culture: Transylvanian (Saxon), Brassó (Brasov, Kronstadt)

Medium: Silver

Dimensions: Overall: 8 3/8 x 4 5/16 in. (21.2 x 11 cm)

Classification: Metalwork-Silver

Credit Line: Gift of The Salgo Trust for Education, New York, in memory of Nicolas M. Salgo, 2010

(Metropolitan Museum)

Trumpet-shaped beakers with high hollow bases were one of Salgo’s great passions, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art selected several examples from his collection to document their variety of sizes, artistic quality, and type of decoration. Hunting scenes and a lion, elk, and rampant horse are all powerfully depicted in this piece. The applied, molded ring marks the actual bottom of the liquid-containing part of this piece.

Literature:

Tihamér Gyárfás. A brassai ötvösség története. Brassó, 1912, p. 108, no. 183.

European and English Silver. Sale cat., Sotheby’s, London, July 11–12, 1985, n.p., no. 80.

Judit H. Kolba. Hungarian Silver: The Nicolas M. Salgo Collection. London, 1996, p. 50, no. 28.

Source: Wolfram Koeppe 2015

A Tankard from Debrecen, Hungary (1627)

Maker: Michael Beri (active ca. 1627) Date: ca. 1627 Culture: Hungarian, Debrecen Medium: Gilded silver

Dimensions: Overall: 7 1/16 x 4 7/8 in. (18 x 12.4 cm) It is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, not in view…

The Museum’s description:

“Prints were a key source for Beri in fashioning this tankard. Its form was made popular through the printed designs of Bernhard Zan. Scrollwork cartouches frame three oval reliefs filled with animals: a unicorn before an urban structure, a grazing horse in a landscape, and a recumbent lioness or panther near a well and tower. These animal scenes follow prints from a Thierbuch (or book of animals), published by Jost Amman and Hans Bocksberger in Frankfurt in 1579, that was an especially common source for metal-workers.”

A gilded glass from Transylvania, 1635

It is also in the Metropolitan Museum, the master’s sign is LN. The cup is from Nagyszeben / Hrmanstadt / Sibiu. It wears the coat of arms of a commander, Zacharias Filkenius, the counties of Sighisoara/Segesvár/Schässburg/Schäsbrich.

A liturgical cup, 1644

The photos show a liturgical vessel (the Lord’s Supper) with the coat of arms of Georg Böhm, the magistrate of Beszterce / Bistrita/Bistritz, Nösen. It was made by the goldsmith Martinus Weiß from Brassó (Kronstadt, Brasov), in the period 1644-1664.

A silver cup from Transylvania, 1648

Dimensions: height: 19,5 cm; opening diameter: 13,5 cm It is on display in the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest.

The side is decorated with the engraved marital arms of János Kemény and Zsuzsanna Kallai, ensigned with a coronet and surrounded by a wreath. There is also an inscription around the coats of arms: IOHANNES KEMENY ANNO 1648, SVSANNA KALLAI ANNO 1648. The rim has an engraved VII, which refers to the number of the beaker series. Marked with the maker’s signature on the base as yet unidentified.

Footed Beaker from Transylvania before 1645

Maker: Johannes (Hans) Retsch, Sr. (master 1608, died 1645) Date: first half of 17th century; Culture: Hungarian / German Saxon, Brassó (Kronstadt, Brasov)

Medium: Gilded silver; Dimensions: Overall: 5 3/16 x 2 7/8 in. (13.2 x 7.3 cm); It is in the Metropolitan Museum.

References: Elemér Kőszeghy. Magyarországi ötvösjegyek a középkortól 1867-ig / Merkzeichen der Goldschmiede Ungarns vom Mittelalter bis 1867. Budapest, 1936, no. 192 [maker’s mark]. Credit Line: Gift of The Salgo Trust for Education, New York, in memory of Nicolas M. Salgo, 2010

A gilded goblet from Transylvania, mid-17th century

From the collection of the late Maria Rosu

Silver gilded conical goblet with a commemorative plaque dedicated to Emperor Rudolph II. The work of the goldsmith Zilahy Pál from Kolozsvár, who worked between 1635-1652.

Feeding bowl set, 1690

Date: 1690

Culture: Hungarian, Transylvania (I think it was made by the local Saxons.)

Medium: Silver, partly gilded

Dimensions:Overall: 6 3/4 x 8 x 4 7/16 in. (17.2 x 20.3 x 11.3 cm)

Classification: Metalwork-Silver

Credit Line: Gift of The Salgo Trust for Education, New York, in memory of Nicolas M. Salgo, 2010

The set is in the Metropolitan Museum, New York

This shell-shaped vessel—known as a feeding bowl—was used to serve strong broth or other liquid nourishment to the sick through a pierced well. The absence of marks suggests that the unknown goldsmith, who merged superior craftsmanship with inventive design to create this piece, was guild-exempt while working as a court goldsmith. On the cover plate is an armorial roundel with a Latin inscription encircling the ibex (goat) crest of Count Michael Teleki de Szék (b. 1634), a wealthy statesman, military commander, and landlord. The engraved date 1690 is the year of the count’s death. He likely used the bowl himself during his final illness.

A similar coat of arms of a rampant goat as a hexagonal dish in the Hungarian National Museum (Judit H. Kolba. Schätze des ungarischen Barock. Exh. cat. Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus Hanau. Hanau, 1991, p. 82, no. 41). For a less ornate example see Baroque Splendor: The Art of the Hungarian Goldsmith. Exh. cat. by István Fodor et al. Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts. New York, 1994, p. 128, fig. 64.

A plate also inscribed with the name of Michael Teleki and his coat of arms was sold, Important Orfèvrerie Européenne, Boîtes en Or et Objets de Vitrine. Sale cat., Sotheby’s, Paris, December 1, 2011, p. 171, no. 280.

[Wolfram Koeppe 2015]

Canister,1681 (Metropolitan Museum)

Hungarian, possibly from Fogaras castle. The six dynamic semicircular lobes are reminiscent of Byzantine and later orthodox sacred architecture but the Ottoman-influenced engraved floral decoration of pomegranates, tulips, and roses against black enamel suggests the canister served a useful purpose. When the domed lid is screwed down, it holds in place a second tidily inserted lid to hermetically seal the gilt interior. The arms belong to Michael Teleki of Szék and his third wife Judith Weér de Köröstarcsa, to whom the inscription VER JUDIT refers.

Literature

Fine Russian Works of Art, Fabergé, Watches and Clocks . . . Silver / Objets d’art russes, Fabergé, montres et pendules . . . orfèvrerie européenne. Sale cat., Christie’s, Geneva, November 12–15, 1984, p. 181, no. 529.

Judit H. Kolba. Hungarian Silver: The Nicolas M. Salgo Collection. London, 1996, p. 81, no. 59.

Wolfram Koeppe in “Recent Acquisitions: A Selection, 2010–2012.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 70, no. 2 (Fall 2012), p. 29.

References:

A plate inscribed with the same names and similar coats of arms was sold, Important Orfèvrerie Européenne, Boîtes en Or et Objets de Vitrine. Sale cat., Sotheby’s, Paris, December 1, 2011, p. 171, no. 280.

Elemér Kőszeghy. Magyarországi ötvösjegyek a középkortól 1867-ig / Merkzeichen der Goldschmiede Ungarns vom Mittelalter bis 1867. Budapest, 1936, pp. 113–15.

[Wolfram Koeppe 2015]

Saxon Tankard, ca. 1650 (Metropolitan Museum)

Maker: Valentinius (Felten) Urbiger (master in 1641, died 1657)

Date: ca. 1650

Culture: Transylvanian – Saxon, Brassó (Brasov, Kronstadt)

Medium: Gilded silver

Dimensions: Overall: 8 1/8 x 4 1/2 in. (20.6 x 11.5 cm)

Classification: Metalwork-Silver

Credit Line: Gift of The Salgo Trust for Education, New York, in memory of Nicolas M. Salgo, 2010

The harmonious proportions, the careful distinction between matte and polished areas, and the powerful lid with its sculptural finial give this great tankard a particular elegance. The little recumbent stag, a symbol of hunting, rests on the lid framed by thin branches of so-called Krauswerk, or silver scroll-sheet foliage, that defines the space. Various tankards and covered cups with a similar stag cast are known. The decorative finials were prefabricated and bought from specialists.

Its model was very popular. Cups in the form of a stag or beakers and tankards decorated with hunting motifs were offered after the hunt to special guests or the most successful hunter in a hunting lodge.

Silver wine glass from 1632

It is decorated with the COA of Prince Rákóczi György I of Transylvania and his wife, Lorántffy Zsuzsanna on it;

Dimensions: 10,5 cm high, and 7.6 cm wide; weight: 222 gr;

When drinking wine, silver can get a darker color to avoid this, the inside and the drinking edge of the glass were gilded.

We can read the following text on it:

COM GEORGIVS RAKOTZI D : C PRVITRAN : PARTI : RFCH : DSTC 1632 and SVSANNA. LORANTFI. D.C. PRIN. TRAN

In the 17th century, there were similar silver glasses in each noble household. This glass is on display in the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest.

A Communion jug or flagon, 1639 (Metropolitan Museum)

Date: 1639; Culture: Hungarian; Medium: Silver, partly gilded; Dimensions: Overall: 15 15/16 x 6 1/2 in. (40.5 x 16.5 cm)

The Latin inscription on this highly restrained and elegantly proportioned jug reads in translation:

“The noble lord Andreas Zakany, deputy-lieutenant of the renowned Borsod County, and his wife, the noble lady Helena Poki, had this made for the Evangelical Church of Szendrő on 19 April 1639, in honor of the Most Holy Blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Unadorned jugs or flagons capable of holding at least one liter of wine were used for refilling chalices shared among a Protestant congregation during Communion.

A footed beaker, 1670 (Metropolitan Museum)

Date: ca. 1670

Culture: Hungarian, Fogaras

Medium: Silver, partly gilded

Dimensions: Overall: 9 7/16 x 5 11/16 in. (24 x 14.5 cm)

Classification: Metalwork-Silver (Presently not in view.)

Credit Line: Gift of The Salgo Trust for Education, New York, in memory of Nicolas M. Salgo, 2010

This substantial beaker could hold large quantities of wine. The polished scrolls and fruit clusters that project from a matte ground evoke a feeling of abundance that reflects the beaker’s lavish function. Similar auricular (literally “ear-shaped”) scrollwork can be seen on the lidded example to the left.

This beaker may also originally have had a cover. An auricular-style scrollwork ornament, which originated in the Netherlands in the early seventeenth century (Antje-Maria van Graevenitz. Das niederländische Ohrmuschelornament. Bamberg, 1973), similar to that decorating this voluminous beaker can be seen on a lidded example from the collection, acc. no. 2010.110.38.

A footed beaker with cover, 1682 (Metropolitan Museum)

This monumental beaker is one of the largest known of its type. It has a hollow base and an undulating ring that marks the actual bottom of the vessel on the outside. Both of these features are characteristic of Hungarian and Transylvanian production. The inscribed coat of arms at left indicates that it belonged to a member of a princely Transylvanian family, Count Mikes, who came from one of the most ancient dynasties of the Székely people.

Together with the Saxons, the Székelys were crucial for the defense of Hungary’s eastern border against the Ottomans. The number “XX” may indicate that the beaker was the largest in an assembled set from which two smaller beakers are now preserved in the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest. The lute-playing angel garbed in peasant costume is very close to a similar figure decorating a silver-gilt tankard by Michael Schellung, made in Brassó about 1640. Both were likely inspired by the same printed design source.

Maker: Johannes (Hans) Mautner (master 1670, died 1694) Date: 1682 Culture: Saxon / Hungarian, Brassó Medium: Gilded silver

Dimensions: Overall: 15 3/4 x 6 11/16 in. (40 x 17 cm) Classification: Metalwork-Silver

Credit Line: Gift of The Salgo Trust for Education, New York, in memory of Nicolas M. Salgo, 2010

A silver cup – with the arms of Bethlen Miklós and Rhédey Júlia (around 1693)

It was made by the Saxon Sebestyén Hann in Nagyszeben, Transylvania, and it is in the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest. This item, representative of Transylvanian Renaissance goldsmith art, used to be in the possession of Benjámin Kállay. It is a member of a set of beakers fitting into each other. The 6 or 12-piece sets were made for special occasions, engagements, and nuptials.

The surface of the beaker, slightly widening in a curve, is decorated with a special punching tool and resembles shark skin. There are coats of arms and signs on its side, in two oval fields. To the left, Bethlen’s coat of arms with the snake and the crown and the inscription “NICOL DE BETHLEN CONT EN CAN REG COM M C E IHVST C S”. To the right, there is a bird in a coat of arms field with a helmet, and the name “IVLIA REDEI”, referring to the Transylvanian councilor and his wife. The bottom base edge features a later chiseling: “PRO SPONZA-BARBARA BETHLEN ANNO 1693”, according to which Bethlen gave it to his daughter from his first marriage.

Its pendant can be found in the collection of the National Museum. Its mouth and base edges and the oval fields of the coats of arms are gilt.

It is marked on its bottom with the initials SH in an oval field – a monogram of Sebestyén Hann (1644–1713), the most significant master of Hungarian Baroque goldsmith art.

Dimensions: height: 19 cm; opening diameter: 12,6 cm; base diameter: 8,9 cm; weight: 528 g;

A Charger, 1794

Although it is not a drinking vessel, it certainly fits here. It is from Transylvania, it is made of silver, and partly gilded. Dimensions: Overall: 17 1/8 x 17 1/2 in. (43.5 x 44.5 cm) It is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Museum’s description:

Allegorical figures of the Four Elements, labeled within ribbons as IGNIS (fire), AQUA (water), AER (air), and TERRA (earth), occupy the oval cartouches. Cycles of the Four Elements, the Four Seasons, the Four Times of the Day, and the Four Ages of Man were important and commonly depicted subjects in Baroque art. Numerous animals, including a mythological unicorn (symbol of purity), an exotic camel, a bear (warning of gluttony), and a wild boar (symbol of endurance and strength), among others, are dispersed throughout the frieze ornament and interlacing floral decoration. The tulip motif is derived from the plants first cultivated in the Balkan region and the Ottoman Empire.

A charger like this one would have been displayed on a festive buffet. It is unclear if it was intended as a stand for a matching ewer, in which case it would have served as part of a lavabo set used for washing hands during meals. The name of its owner, Gyerofi Borbara, and the date it was made in 1694, is inscribed in the center. The numbering on the back indicates that the piece was once in the Andrássy treasury.

A mid-17th century beaker, Metropolitan Museum

Title: Footed beaker; Maker: Franciscus Rether (active 1634–84, master 1635); Culture: Hungarian (Saxon), Brassó; Medium: Silver

Dimensions: Overall: 8 3/8 x 4 5/16 in. (21.2 x 11 cm) (Presently not on view.)

Franciscus Rether (master 1635, died 1639)

A Beaker, late 17th century

This beaker was made in Hungary, in Rimaszombat. Floral decoration was very popular in goldsmiths’ work in the later seventeenth century, culminating with the use of large, swirling blossoms and foliage, as seen on this beaker that is elevated on ball feet. Objects with this form belonged to a standard type and were produced in large quantities throughout Central and Eastern Europe.

Medium: Silver, partly gilded; Dimensions: Overall: 4 1/2 x 4 in. (11.5 x 10.1 cm)

It is on display in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

A Footed Cup, late 17th century

This silver vessel was made in Transylvania, in Brassó by the Saxon artist Michael Neustadter, and it is in the Museum of Applied Arts, in Budapest. The dimensions are: height: 13,6 cm; base diameter: 6,5 cm; opening diameter: 6,9 cm; weight: 120,4 g;

Tapering, cylindrical body with everted rim. The footband is decorated with bent, chased flowers. The foot is connected to the body with a wavy belt, on which there are three stylized flowers in three cartouches. The master’s and the city’s marks are punched on the rim of the foot.

Beaker, 1730-1750

Maker: Georgius Olescher Jr. (master in 1721, died 1761) Culture: Hungarian / German Saxon Medium: Silver, partly gilded

Dimensions: Overall: 7 7/8 x 4 13/16 in. (20 x 12.2 cm) It is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (not in view)

The Museum’s description: “An elegant rhythm is created in this beaker by alternating gilded vertical concave flutes with silver panels containing finely embossed and chased ornament on a matte ground. Georgius Olescher Jr., the maker here, was probably inspired by the work of Michael II May, who spent several years in France becoming familiar with Regence ornaments, returning to Brassó by December 1731. Other Transylvanian beakers are similarly decorated, including examples with this typical bell-shaped form.”

“And it was May who produced several such large beakers, all of which are similarly ornamented (István Heller. Ungarische und siebenbürgische Goldschmiedearbeiten: Vom Ende des 16. Jahrhunderts bis zum Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts. Munich, 2000, pp. 106–8, nos. 31 and 32). Some were produced with a lid. The Regence strapwork is an adaptation of French and German silver ornament but was also one of the main patterns featured on porcelain from the influential Viennese DuPaquier manufactory. The number of surviving examples made in Brassó indicates that this type of drinking vessel, all partially gilded, was extremely popular in the region.”

More vessels to be described are coming soon…

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