Main content
Course: Europe 1300 - 1800 > Unit 10
Lesson 1: Rococo- A beginner's guide to the Age of Enlightenment
- A beginner's guide to Rococo art
- The Formation of a French School: the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture
- Antoine Watteau, Pilgrimage to Cythera
- Watteau, Pilgrimage to Cythera
- Boucher, Madame de Pompadour
- The Tiepolo Family
- Vigée Le Brun, Self-Portrait with her Daughter, Julie
- Vigée Le Brun, Self-Portrait with her Daughter
- Vigée Le Brun, Self-Portrait
- Vigée Le Brun, Madame Perregaux
- Unlocking an 18th-century French mechanical table
- Bernard II van Risenburgh, Writing table
- Construction of an 18th-century French mechanical table
- The inlay technique of marquetry
- Fragonard, The Swing
- Fragonard, The Swing
- Fragonard, The Swing
- Fragonard, The Meeting
- Greuze, The Village Bride
- Architecture in 18th-century Germany
- Joachim Michael Salecker, Cup with cover with Hebrew inscriptions
- Maria Sibylla Merian, an introduction
- Maria Sybilla Merian's Metamorphosis of a Small Emperor Moth on a Damson Plum: Getty Conversations
- Rococo Art
© 2024 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
Joachim Michael Salecker, Cup with cover with Hebrew inscriptions
Joachim Michael Salecker, Cup with cover with Hebrew inscriptions, 1723, silver gilt, 16.5 cm in diameter, 37.8 cm high (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Speakers: Dr. Ariel Fein and Dr. Beth Harris. Created by Smarthistory.
Video transcript
(soft piano music) - [First Presenter] We're in the galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, looking at a stunning silver covered cup. So it's got two pieces, the vessel that we would drink from, and this elaborate cover. And if we look closely, we see that there are
figures around the center. Around the lid of this cup, we see engraved roundels
with the signs of the zodiac, the 12 astrological signs that correspond to the constellations. Surmounting the lid are cast brackets and scrolled motifs that
terminate in a finial. And then on the body of the cup, we see three bands, finely decorated with incised motifs, including rosettes. And then the 12 sons
of Jacob are portrayed in relief within niches, and
below them, Hebrew names. - [Second Presenter]
Each of the sons of Jacob is represented carrying an
attribute associated with him. Judah carries a staff and
is shown wearing a crown and dressed as a king. In his hands, he holds a shield
with the image of a lion, traditionally associated
with the tribe of Judah. The unusual ordering of the Hebrew names of the 12 sons of Jacob
lists Issachar, Judah, and Levi in a row. And that's rather strange. What we've discovered
is that this is actually the Hebrew name of the patron, a gentleman named
Issachar ben Juda Halevi, or in German, Behrend Lehmann. - [First Presenter] And Behrend Lehmann was a really interesting man, who rose to heights of power working for the King Frederick
the First of Prussia. Jews had served in royal
courts in the Islamic world, and in the Christian world, and came to be known as Court Jews. - [Second Presenter] Court Jews rose to such positions of prominence, that they were able to exert influence as well as benefit themselves, and support their own communities. Just like other members of the courts, Court Jews were often patrons of art, commissioning and appreciating the kinds of works valued at the court. In the 17th and 18th centuries, many European courts welcomed
in religious minorities, and Jews were among these newcomers. They were able to offer economic support because of their extensive
mercantile networks. - [First Presenter] It can be advantageous to a ruler to hire
someone who's a little bit on the outside of the
normal political circles. - [Second Presenter] And
Behrend Lehman was one such man. He came bringing his extensive
connections, and as a result he rose to such a prominent position of power that he had economic
and political influence but also artistic influence. He played a substantial role in helping Frederick the First of Prussia amass his own collection of art. - [First Presenter] And he
clearly had a collection of his own, and this
object formed part of that. - [Second Presenter] During this period, we see rulers creating Wunderkammern. - [First Presenter] Cabinets of wonder. - [Second Presenter]
Where they would collect precious objects and natural specimens. One of the works that
Behrend Lehman gave to the King of Prussia was an exquisite work of goldsmith's art. It's called the Weltallschale, meaning a representation of the world. Among its many decorations are images of the Zodiac and 12 legendary kings. - [First Presenter] So
both of those motifs appear here on this lidded cup. - [Second Presenter] Since we
see these close connections in the motifs of Lehman's lidded
cup and the Weltallschale, the lid cup would have
highlighted Lehman's proximity to the king, and his prestige. - [First Presenter] And so Lehman had a prominent place within the court, but he also had a prominent place within the Jewish community, and helped to fund important
Jewish institutions. - [Second Presenter] He helped to build a new synagogue in his city. He helped to create a school
of higher Jewish learning, but he also advocated on behalf of the Jewish community with the king. - [First Presenter] It was
helpful to the community to have someone who was so
highly placed politically. - [Second Presenter]
We don't know for sure whether Lehman commissioned
this cup himself or if it was a gift to him,
but it would make sense for this to have been a gift
from the Jewish community to him, in gratitude for all
of his work on their behalf. - [First Presenter] So as
we walk by this object, which is one of many fabulously
beautiful silver objects in a case in the museum,, we're not aware of the fabulous story that this tells of a Jewish man at a
moment in time in Europe where Jewish life was
still very restricted but where some Jews were
able to have the kind of power and influence
that Behrend Lehman had. (soft piano music) (music fades)