Jakob Beckhausen, German (Danzig), active 1678-1705, Tankard: Annunciation to the Shepherds, Nativity, and Adoration of the Magi, late 1600s. Silver, partly gilded, 21 cm high, 19.5 cm diameter. Accession Number: M21w3. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum © 2013 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Marks of Danzig and the maker

In the seventeenth century, important works in silver were produced throughout Germany and the surrounding region, testifying to local wealth and the taste for precious objects. In the Hanseatic cities around the Baltic Sea, large covered tankards were a favorite form of silver for civic institutions. The scenes from Christ’s infancy are derived from Flemish or German pictorial works.

Source: Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 127.