Akeleibecher

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In the foreground three Akeleibugs of the Lüneburg Council Silver
( Berlin Museum of Decorative Arts )

As an Akeleibecher or Akeleipokal a cup is called, which in some features of its execution is based on the shape of an Akeleiblüte .

The special shape of the Akeleipokal , developed from the late Gothic humpback goblet , features the shape of the base and shaft of the vessel, in particular the embossed goblet wall of the drinking bowl, with two rows of mostly teardrop-shaped protrusions, similar to the sepals and petals of a columbine. This cup shape is strictly linked to the art of goldsmithing in Nuremberg , since the manufacture of an Akeleibug, also Agleybecher or Ackleybecher , was obligatory for the master craftsman's examination. Usually the cup closes with a suitable lid.

history

Akeleipokal with lid - and figure of St. Christopher on the lid knob - by Master Kord Olbrecht, 1528 ( KGM Berlin )

The Akeleibecher are among the outstanding artistic forging of the late Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern era, they are considered examples of the highly developed goldsmith's art of the Renaissance in Central Europe . Particularly artistically executed specimens were made in southern Germany from the middle of the 16th century, especially in Nuremberg , where the goldsmiths' guild required an "Agley cup" as a masterpiece in addition to a finger ring and seal, on which the craftsmanship was to be demonstrated.

The Akeleibecher were therefore not primarily vessels dedicated to drinking, but rather magnificent goblets, which in various variants demonstrated technical skills and creative ability on the one hand, and on the other hand served to represent social roles and could indicate a status. Its shape history can only be understood against the background of the ceremonial function of a sacred chalice . The ritual vessel is detached from the liturgical context, profaned and moved from the altar to the table. Initially presented as a splendid item in princely art collections, ash cups are later valued as a showpiece in bourgeois silverware. They belonged to the council silver treasure in the town halls of several German and some German- Swiss cities .

In the Neo-Renaissance the shape of the Akeleibecher was taken up again.

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ see entry Akeleibecher in the Nuremberg artist lexicon
  2. ↑ see related entry Buckelpokal… on SMB-digital, online database of the collections of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin .
  3. ↑ See for example the Akeleipokal in the German Historical Museum, Berlin, created around 1610 by the goldsmith Hans Egerer (the Elder) .
  4. ↑ Agley cups already demanded the rules of the Nuremberg goldsmiths of 1531 and 1535, from 1571 according to the specifications of an authoritative pattern (see also entry Akeleipokal in the digital art archive in Düsseldorf).

literature

Nuremberg goldsmith's art 1541–1868 / gold luster and silver beam. Volume accompanying the exhibition in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum , Nuremberg, 2007, ISBN 978-3-936688191 , 331 pages.