Tankard 1608 - 1647

This Tankard was made by Andreas Meyer in the 17th century, crafted from silver and partly gilded. The vessel presents figures adorned with crowns and verdant garlands, symbols of power and celebration deeply rooted in classical antiquity. These motifs echo through time. Consider the laurel wreaths of Roman emperors and gods, emblems of victory and divinity, which reappear during the Renaissance as symbols of artistic and intellectual triumph. Note, however, how Meyer’s garlands, while celebratory, also hint at transience, reminiscent of ‘memento mori’ traditions. The crown atop the figures suggest sovereignty, but the tankard’s function introduces a tension, a blending of the sacred with the secular, the noble with the everyday. Such transformations reveal how cultural memory functions. An object of daily use becomes a canvas for inherited symbols. It’s as if the collective unconscious infuses the tankard, imbuing it with layers of historical and psychological significance, engaging viewers in an intuitive, almost primal connection with the past. The cyclical progression of these symbols, from ancient crowns to 17th-century tankards, shows how history continually resurfaces, evolves, and takes on new meanings in each era.