Beaker with three scenes from the Story of Tobit

Beaker with three scenes from the Story of Tobit

Jan van de Velde II

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A refined stippling technique was used to create the clouds and trees in the three oval medallions below the beaker’s flaring rim enclosing landscapes in the manner of Jan van de Velde II (1593–1641). Three scenes from the apocryphal story of Tobit fill the larger medallions. One of them shows Tobias who, accompanied by the archangel Raphael, carries a large fish to cure his father Tobit’s blindness. Although not accepted by the Calvinist church, Tobit’s story of steadfast faith inspired many artists including Rembrandt. Grape ornament suggests that this beaker was used for drinking wine, possibly during Communion.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Beaker with three scenes from the Story of TobitBeaker with three scenes from the Story of TobitBeaker with three scenes from the Story of TobitBeaker with three scenes from the Story of TobitBeaker with three scenes from the Story of Tobit

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.