Tankard 1735 - 1745

This tankard was made in Vienna, Austria, of painted porcelain with a silver lid. Porcelain is created by firing a mixture of clay, which gives it the hard, non-porous, translucent finish we see here. The scenes painted on the body of the tankard – seemingly depicting drunken revelry – belie the intense labor involved in its manufacture. Porcelain production was, and remains, a highly specialized process, demanding skill at every stage, from the preparation of the clay to the precise firing in a kiln. The addition of the silver lid shows that this was an object for a wealthy consumer, someone who could afford the cost of both materials and the skilled labor required to form them. Considering all this, the tankard’s playful decoration can be understood as a lighthearted commentary on the relationship between work and pleasure. It challenges the traditional distinction between fine art and craft, inviting us to consider the social and economic contexts in which such objects were created and consumed.