A Continental parcel-gilt silver tankard, marked with initials or Fleur-De-Lis and incuse E, probably Swedish, circa 1671. Photo courtesy Sotheby's
pomegranate thumbpiece and supports, base of handle initialled in mirror monogram and date 2.8. 1671, engraved with flowers and foliage around a Pieter van Abeele medal of 1654; 17.2cm, 6 3/4 in high; 841gr, 27oz. Estimate3,000-5,000 GBP
NOTE: The medal shows on one side Mary Stuart daughter of Charles I, wife of William II of Orange, and on the other their son William III at the age of four. William II had died in 1650 and the Dutch republic had been at war with the English. England's Protector Oliver Cromwell to end the war signed a secret treaty with the province of Holland in 1654 to exclude the house of Orange, supporters of the Stuarts, from the office of Stadtholder. The house of Orange had much support in the States General and the medal was struck to help encourage this support.
The tankard may have been a gift, as was the custom, to a mother on the birth and christening of her child, as the specific date of 2 August 1671 might suggest. The medal of famous mother and child would therefore have been appropriate in this context.
Sotheby's. Arts of Europe. London | 10 juil. 2013 - www.sothebys.com