Beaker 1700 - 1740

Editor: We're looking at a silver beaker, likely crafted between 1700 and 1740. The engraving looks incredibly detailed, and its baroque style evokes such elegance. It's at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What are your first thoughts about this work? Curator: The fact that this functional object, this beaker, is made of silver and decorated so elaborately tells us a great deal about the material conditions of its production and likely consumption. Silver wasn't readily available to everyone, was it? So who would have commissioned something like this, and what does it reveal about social status during the Baroque period? Editor: I hadn't really thought about it that way. I was mostly looking at the mythological scenes, the figures and decorative flourishes. So, the choice of material speaks to wealth, and perhaps power? Curator: Precisely. Consider also the labor involved in extracting, refining, and working the silver, not to mention the artistry of the engraver. This wasn't some mass-produced item; it was a highly specialized, laborious process, essentially communicating the owner’s privilege through materiality and craft. Is this challenging any prior thoughts on 'high art' and what it is versus something deemed as utilitarian? Editor: It does blur the lines, doesn't it? I typically think of sculpture or painting being high art, while this object felt like a craft. I can see now that it can embody both. Curator: Indeed. And reflecting on what this silver beaker tells us about the people who produced, owned, and used it can be far more revealing than a mere aesthetic appreciation. Editor: That’s fascinating! It shifts the entire perspective away from simple appreciation and makes one reflect on economy, labor, and skill, rather than just aesthetics! I have definitely learnt to view functional objects in a totally different light.