Silver Cup

Joachim Michael Salecker

1723

Image

Silver cup with engraving of biblical figures along base and astrological figures and decorative designs on lid. — This silver-gilt cup is decorated with representations of the biblical patriarch Jacob’s twelve sons, each standing in his own separate archway with his Hebrew name inscribed underneath. This cup was owned by Behrend Lehmann (1661–1731), an important figure in the courts of Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg and the Polish king, August the Strong of Saxony. Lehmann’s Jewish name—Issachar ben Judah ha-Levi—is hinted at in the placement of the likenesses of Issachar, Judah, and Levi alongside one another in the fraternal arrangement. The cup’s lid is engraved with astrological signs. The maker’s mark of the silversmith, Joachim Michael Salecker (active 1723–1752), is struck on the base.

Credits

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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