Goblet with Round Medallions 1530

Sebald Beham etched this design for a goblet in 1530. Note the classical figures and motifs encircling the vessel’s lid. The winged figures, reminiscent of ancient depictions of Eros or Cupid, stand alongside idealized human forms in circular medallions. The central scene, however, draws us deeper. Two figures stand at an altar, their gestures suggesting a sacred act, perhaps an offering to the gods. This motif of figures at an altar is found across cultures, from ancient Roman votive reliefs to Renaissance paintings of biblical sacrifices. The act of offering, of giving something up to a higher power, taps into a primal human impulse, resonating with our subconscious understanding of devotion. The goblet itself, a vessel for communal drinking, reinforces this idea. It is a container for shared experience, a symbol of unity. This iconography—the classical figures, the ritualistic offering—creates an object that speaks not just of beauty, but of the enduring human need for connection with the divine.