Precious tableware of Old Rus
Goblet and Tankard

Goblet. Russia, Moscow, the late XVIIth century, the Patriarch"s workshops
Goblet. Russia, Moscow, the Moscow Kremlin workshops, 1601-1650. Belonged to Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich
Horn of Plenty goblet. Germany, Hamburg, 1633-1635. Maker Dietrich Thor Moye

Goblets are the ancient vessels for drinking wine shaped like a bowl with a base and stem but without handles. Their various forms were similar to beakers, bratinas and other cups and their stems were shaped as pillars, tree trunks, cast figures etc. Their lids were decorated with silver bouquets of flowers allegories of the virtues. Executed usually of precious metals or natural materials, goblets were finished with engraved or embossed ornament, enamels and precious stones.

Although goblets were widespread in Russia from early times, they were usually of West European origin. Having been brought by foreign ambassadors or tradesmen, these utensils were used in everyday life as dresser decorations. They were also granted to voivodes (provincial governors) and merchants for a faithful service or presented as gifts on special occasions and ceremonies. Silver goblets were considered to be the symbols of wealth of their owners, which were displayed for guests in dressers during banquets and festivals.

A harmonious, elegant gold vessel, executed in the Moscow Kremlin Workshops in the first half of the XVIIth century, is a rare example of the Old Russian secular tableware of the XVIIth century (img. 2). In the form it recalls a church chalice - a gold or silver cup containing the wine at Mass; the traditional liturgical inscription, however, has been replaced by the name of the owner – Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich. This artwork is a reminiscent of several masterpieces, including the lavishly bejeweled crown of Mikhail Fyodorovich.

Tankard. Russia, Moscow, the Moscow Kremlin workshops, before 1693. Belonged to the boyar B. Khitrovo
Tankard. Germany, Augsburg, 1684-1689. Maker F.J. Drentwett III
Tankard. Russia, Moscow, the Moscow Kremlin workshops, the late XVIIIth century. Belonged to Tsarevitch Alexei, the son of Peter I

Tankards - one-handled drinking vessels, commonly made of precious metals, sometimes fitted with a hinged lid - have been executed in Russia since the XVIIth century. Up to that time they have been brought abroad as diplomatic gifts or saleable goods. Forms and decoration of tankards were taken from similar tableware by foreign makers. They were decorated with embossed scenes of antique and secular life, landscapes, foliate ornament. Decor of such vessels could include coins or pieces of ivory, mounted in their surface, as well as casted figures on their lids.

Silver and partly gilded tankard, executed by Maker F.J. Drentwett III in Augsburg (img. 5), is decorated with delicate embossed symbolic images and inscriptions. Its style has been replicated by the Russian makers in form and ornamentation of the tankard belonged to Tsarevitch Alexei Petrovich (img. 6).

In the second half of the XVIIth century Russian silversmiths began to follow the fashion of West European art and widely used decorative motifs and styles of jewellery and tableware by German, English and Swedish makers.