{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O91653"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O91653/"}},"images":null,"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O91653","accessionNumber":"M.29&A-1968","objectType":"Standing cup","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"The standing cup and cover was a traditional form that continued to be made for conservative German courts until well into the 18th century. This example, with its lavish and colourful materials, was made for a Schatzkammer, or princely treasury. It has an unidentified maker's mark but was probably made in Dresden. Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony (ruled 1694-1733), was famous for his extravagant acquisition of oriental porcelain and for creating the Japanese Palace in Dresden. This he gradually filled with Chinese, Japanese and newly invented European porcelain made at Meissen. But he also commissioned major works in gold and silver. His court jeweller, Johann Melchior Dinglinger (1664–1731), was one of the greatest of all European goldsmiths. \r\n\r\nHunting was a popular theme in 17th- and 18th-century German silver. This cup, made of alternating panels of antler and mother-of-pearl overlaid on a silver liner, is carved with scenes of boar hunts and surmounted by a seated deer. The decorative effect of the cup is based on contrasts: between colour and texture and between the sophisticated working of the mother-of-pearl and the rough natural state of the antler panels. But the antlers too are subtly embellished with stylised carvings of 'wild men' heads. The wild man was a fabulous medieval creature, half-man, half-beast, symbolising nature.","physicalDescription":"The cup is made with a raised silver-gilt liner with alternating plaques of mother of pearl and stag’s horn covering it.  The cover is similarly decorated and crowned with a carved mother-of pearl deer.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[],"techniques":[],"materialsAndTechniques":"Stag’s horn and mother-of-pearl mounted in silver-gilt","categories":[{"text":"Metalwork","id":"THES48920"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"MET","id":"THES48599"},"images":[],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"89","id":"THES49706"},"free":"","case":"2","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"89","id":"THES49706"},"free":"","case":"2","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"cups","id":"AAT43202"}],[{"text":"Lid","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Dresden (city)","id":"x28810"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"possibly"}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1718","earliest":"1718-01-01","latest":"1718-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"35.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"14.8","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"foot","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"12","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"lip","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"On rim of cover and base of foot: FR in monogram, probably an inventory mark, MS or SW in oval punch (with two nicks either side of the middle), unidentified [possibly R1780], French restricted warranty mark 1838 onwards.","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""}],"objectHistory":"On the cup, the protuberances in the stag’s horn have been carved to form wild men’s faces; the mother-of-pearl panels are in two parts. The lower ones inbricated, the upper ones carved in shallow relief with hunting scenes.  The use of hunting ionograph on drinking vessels is commonplace in Germany from the 16th century onwards and numerous graphic designs were produced showing this sort of ornament. Hunting trophies and antlers were collected, especially for their curiosity value if they were in some way misshapen. \r\n\n(Old label: A hunting cup, with hunting scenes alternating with carved panels of  stags' horn, carefully exploiting its colour and texture for effect. The mounts are very high quality, raising the possibility that the cup was made for the Elector Augustus of Saxony's Dresden court. His famous collection, still housed in the Green Vaults in Dresden.)","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Silver, Continental\n\nSilver, Continental","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Silver Gallery:\nThe standing cup and cover was a traditional form that continued to be made for conservative German courts until well into the 18th century. This example, with its lavish and colourful materials was made for a Schatzkammer, or princely treasury. It has an unidentified maker's mark but was probably made in Dresden. Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony (1670-1733) was famous for his extravagant acquisition of oriental porcelain and for creating the Japanese Palace in Dresden, which he gradually filled with Chinese, Japanese and newly invented European porcelain made at Meissen. But he also commissioned major works in gold and silver and his court jeweller, Johann Melchior Dinglinger (1664-1731), was one of the greatest of all European goldsmiths.  \nHunting was a popular theme in 17th and 18th-century German silver and this cup, made of alternating panels of antler and mother of pearl overlaid on a silver liner, is carved with scenes of boar hunts and surmounted by a seated deer. The decorative effect of the cup is based on contrasts: between colour and texture and between the sophisticated working of the mother of pearl and the rough natural state of the antler panels. But the antlers too are subtly embellished with stylised  carvings of 'wildmen' heads. The wildman was a fabulous medieval creature, half man, half-beast, symbolising nature.","date":{"text":"26/11/2004","earliest":"2004-11-26","latest":"2004-11-26"}}],"partNumbers":["M.29-1968","M.29A-1968"],"accessionNumberNum":"29","accessionNumberPrefix":"M","accessionYear":1968,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE","Cup","Lid"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-12","recordCreationDate":"2004-02-09","availableToBook":false}}