Tankard engraved with scenes of the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London

Tankard engraved with scenes of the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London

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An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The scenes engraved on these tankards depict the traumatic events of the Fire of London (1666) and the Great Plague (1665). The tankards were commissioned as gifts to the friends of Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey, who was granted a knighthood in recognition of his services to the city. He was later murdered, perhaps by parties wishing to overthrow Charles II and re-establish Catholic rule.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tankard engraved with scenes of the Great Plague and the Great Fire of LondonTankard engraved with scenes of the Great Plague and the Great Fire of LondonTankard engraved with scenes of the Great Plague and the Great Fire of LondonTankard engraved with scenes of the Great Plague and the Great Fire of LondonTankard engraved with scenes of the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London

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.