Tankard

Description Tankards were used for drinking kivas (beer). The form of this vessel with its ball feet and thumb-piece originated in western Europe during the 17th century. On the lid is the bust of Count Burkhard Münnich, the Russian commander during a war in the Crimea (1736-1739). This piece is also decorated with a design of landscapes and birds.

Exhibitions

• Russian Art: Icons and Decorative Arts from the Origin to the Twentieth Century. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1959-1960.

Provenance Alexandre Polovtsoff (Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Polovtsov), St. Petersburg and Paris, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1930, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Inscription] Several marks on bottom including one with date of 1737 and initials L B or C R.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1930