Tankard

Valentinius (Felten) Urbiger

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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 to the most successful hunter in a hunting lodge.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art