Fig. 175.—Cup with Cover, Silver-gilt; French; Seventeenth Century. (J.)
The English silver tankards were straight-sided, with naturalistic decoration. Modern tankards for beer-drinking uses are made in pewter or Britannia metal.
Fig. 176.—Silver Casket; Seventeenth Century.
Fig. 177.—Nuremberg Tankard.
In the Rhine Provinces, in Germany, and in Switzerland stoneware tankards with metal covers and mountings are still in use. Tankards in the seventeenth century were made with pegs inserted in the sides at regulated distances, so that each drinker might quaff his measured portion when the vessel was handed round.
Fig. 178.—Cup of Gold, circa 1660-70, at Exeter College, Oxford. (C.)
In the reign of James I. many sumptuous objects in services and toilet furniture were made in gold and silver. The baronial halls in England were extremely rich in large pieces of plate: huge salvers, vases, basins, jugs, cups, toilet services, and even tables, chairs, mirror-frames, and fire-dogs were made in silver.