Covered Beaker 1467 - 1473

This Covered Beaker was crafted in Germany around the year 1500 by Hans Greiff, using silver, gold and precious stones. The luxury of the materials speak of wealth, but it's worth considering the wider social and political context of the late medieval period. The Catholic Church held immense power, and religious iconography dominated art. But we can see, with objects like this, the emergence of a wealthy merchant class who began to develop their own visual language to reinforce social status. By looking at guild records and family crests, we can begin to understand what this elaborate ornamentation might have meant to its original owner. The existence of pieces like this one, produced by highly skilled artisans, give art historians insights into a society's values and priorities during times of transformation.