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28 décembre 2017

Drinking horn (griffin claw), probably Prague, around 1400

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Drinking horn (griffin claw), probably Prague, around 1400. Silver, gold plated, horn, enamel. H 34.2 cm, L 48.5 cm; Cover: Dm 12.3 cm. Green Vault, IV 333. © Dresden State Art Collections.

"Halt veste us / komen geste" This invitation, engraved on the branch on which the creeping, bearded carrying figure of the ancient drinking horn is based, describes its function very precisely. It is a ceremonial vessel whose silver gilt beaker allows it to be used as a welcome cup for guests, but also for festive customs such as minne drinking in honor of revered saints, weddings, contracts, reconciliation and funerals. The silver-gilt setting with its hollow cast support figure in fashionable costume of the period around 1400 has been worked very carefully. On the high lip edge are six medallions, which are connected by a wide band. Between two medallions with flowers against golden ground are two escutcheons, one of them with the Bohemian lion, and the reliefs of the blessing Christ and a saint with a book that can be interpreted as Mary. Inside the lid is another medallion with a resting deer in a forest landscape. The massive horn tip ends in a clearly structured miniature architecture. This consists of a ring wall, behind which rises a cross-shaped building with inclined Vierungssturm. Just as carefully as the figural parts, the blossom and tendril ornament on the clasps and the cuffs are designed. The splendid ornamentation of the large buffalo horn is close to the "beautiful style" of the Prague Court Workshop and dates back to the 1400s. A close relationship of the drinking horn to the Bohemian King Wenceslas IV is quite possible. A total of eight of the ancient drinking vessels have come to the Dresden Kunstkammer over the centuries and from there in the 19th century into the Grünes Gewölbe. Their romantic name as griffin claws is due to the unusual material as well as their shape and size.
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