Gilt Beaker with Remarkable Inscription – Emden, 1618

Gilt Beaker with Remarkable Inscription – Emden, 1618
Gilt beaker bearing a unique and remarkable inscription, telling the story of the beaker and the Jewish merchant who tried to sell it. [Emden], 1618.
White metal; cast, repoussé and engraved; gilt.
Cylindrical beaker with stylized stem and circular foot. Remarkable East Frisian inscription, engraved in 1618 in two lines on the rim of the beaker: "ALS • IAN • VAN • LAER • UNDE • WOLTER • HARBERS • OLDER • LUIDEN • WEREN / sindt den ampre dese valsche gheschiren gheworden van een iode by den heeren Anno 1618" ["When Ian Van Laer and Wolter Harbers were guild masters, this fake cup was discovered, from a Jew in the year 1618"].
The inscription relates the story of a Jew, who was presumably accused of trying to sell this beaker as gold or silver gilt, while it was in fact made of white metal. The supposed deception was discovered by two artisans (members of the silversmith's guild), who were responsible for checking the compostion of gold and silver objects, and they had the cup engraved to commemorate the story and publicize their success in discovering the fraud.
Jan van Laer and Wolter Herbers (Haerberts), whose names are engraved on this beaker, worked as gold- and silversmiths in Emden, East Frisia. Both are mentioned in Biographisches Lexikon für Ostfriesland (see enclosed material).
Height: 13.5 cm, diameter: 7 cm.