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Details
A small, 17th century Swiss engraved silver-gilt tankard
of tapering cylindrical form with a cushion domed foot, a domed cover, a volute thumbpiece and a pomegranate finial, the c-scroll handle engraved with hatching and overlapping leaf motifs, the cover engraved with arabesque scrolls and the inscription 'ANNO 1664, SABINA KROMPPEININ GEBOHRNE WELLINGIN'; the inside of the cover with an engraved coat of arms, the body engraved all over with formal scrollwork, a central mask and floral sprays punctuated with fruit, flowering scrolls, flowerheads and a rabbit, below the inscription 'PSALM-N9.V.72 DASGESETZ: DEINES MUNDES.IST.MIR.LIEBER.DANVIL.DAUSENT.STICK.GOLD.UND.SILBER'; marked on the cover and base with maker's mark LD; town mark a quartered shield below an antler in a shaped punch, unascribed, probably made in the vicinity of Wettingen, c. 1664 - 16cm high, 12.25oz.
of tapering cylindrical form with a cushion domed foot, a domed cover, a volute thumbpiece and a pomegranate finial, the c-scroll handle engraved with hatching and overlapping leaf motifs, the cover engraved with arabesque scrolls and the inscription 'ANNO 1664, SABINA KROMPPEININ GEBOHRNE WELLINGIN'; the inside of the cover with an engraved coat of arms, the body engraved all over with formal scrollwork, a central mask and floral sprays punctuated with fruit, flowering scrolls, flowerheads and a rabbit, below the inscription 'PSALM-N9.V.72 DASGESETZ: DEINES MUNDES.IST.MIR.LIEBER.DANVIL.DAUSENT.STICK.GOLD.UND.SILBER'; marked on the cover and base with maker's mark LD; town mark a quartered shield below an antler in a shaped punch, unascribed, probably made in the vicinity of Wettingen, c. 1664 - 16cm high, 12.25oz.
Literature
Literature: Gruber, A. Silverware; pp77.
'However astonishing it may seem to us now, small tankards were used almost exclusively by ladies. Evidence of this practice, in southern Germany and Switzerland especially, can be found in many illustrations of the period. Husbands often gave their wives a tankard - as they sometimes also gave them a bowl - when the first child was born. This was because beer was thought to improve lactation. The fact that they were intended for women explains why they were so small, rather compact and richly decorated.'
It seems likely that the dual coat of arms inside the cover is that of the parents of SABINA KROMPPEININ and that her father gave this tankard to his wife on the birth of their daughter SABINA in 1664 as was the custom of the time.
The approximate translation of the Psalm inscribed around the upper body is 'The Law of thy mouth is better unto me, than many thousands of pieces of gold and silver.'
'However astonishing it may seem to us now, small tankards were used almost exclusively by ladies. Evidence of this practice, in southern Germany and Switzerland especially, can be found in many illustrations of the period. Husbands often gave their wives a tankard - as they sometimes also gave them a bowl - when the first child was born. This was because beer was thought to improve lactation. The fact that they were intended for women explains why they were so small, rather compact and richly decorated.'
It seems likely that the dual coat of arms inside the cover is that of the parents of SABINA KROMPPEININ and that her father gave this tankard to his wife on the birth of their daughter SABINA in 1664 as was the custom of the time.
The approximate translation of the Psalm inscribed around the upper body is 'The Law of thy mouth is better unto me, than many thousands of pieces of gold and silver.'
Sale room notice
Please note this tankard is not GERMAN but SWISS. It bears a town mark for BALINGEN, a town in South Germany about 80km from the Swiss border.