Tankard 1770

Curator: What catches my eye immediately is how this silver tankard almost perfectly embodies understated elegance, all gleaming form and subtle detailing. Editor: I see more than elegance. I see the hours upon hours of labor it must have taken to bring this from raw material to this refined shape. Curator: Precisely. Dating back to around 1770, this tankard comes from the workshop of Jacob Gerritse Lansing. The craftsmanship speaks volumes about the status associated with silver objects during that period. Silver, then as now, was tied to wealth, a mark of refinement. Editor: You said it, and it is tempting to think only about the owners, but let's also consider the maker here— the specialized knowledge of metalsmithing, the control over fire and form. This wasn’t simply wealth, this was a specific expertise put into practice to make such objects, a world of knowledge which the art world tends to ignore. Curator: Good point. Looking closely at the lid and the handle, we see restraint alongside some delicate decorative touches characteristic of the Baroque influence at play here, even as styles were moving toward the Neoclassical. Notice, too, how light plays across its surface. Editor: That perfect finish only comes with rigorous polishing. These are all marks that reveal the stages of manufacture of the piece, if only people would notice! And what liquids was this holding anyway? Did the quality of silver add anything special to how the beverages tasted? Curator: Probably alcoholic drinks: beers, cider or maybe stronger liquors. Vessels such as this tankard also reflect the importance of drinking rituals, cementing social relationships. Editor: Well, I'm fascinated by how such an ordinary, utilitarian object encapsulates so much about craft, social class, and production. We see so clearly where the maker's labor and the owner's wealth converge, and it opens an understanding of our history. Curator: For me, it illustrates the continuing power of objects to communicate status and ideals of taste, something worth remembering next time you raise a glass!