Dimensions:
6 3/4 H x 5 Dia. (base)
Materials:
Silver
Marks:
Maker's mark stamped twice three inches to right of upper handle: INK or IVK conjoined in rectangle; engraved on cover: I L reversed cypher; engraved on front: Lansing family coat of arms within an acanthus cartouche; engraved on bottom: L and IL
Accession Number:
1942.23
Comments:
Silver tankards served the early New York Dutch community both functionally and symbolically. When decorated with coats of arms and family initials, they symbolized "family union, fidelity and continuity." They were often given as gifts and used on ceremonial occasions such as the birth of a child. New York tankards show the broad stance, straight tapered body, and flat cover of late seventeenth-century English prototypes. But the decoration merged elements from Dutch, French Huguenot, and English traditions. This tankard's overall robustness of decoration is Dutch in sensibility. Judging from the engraved coat of arms, this tankard belonged to the Lansing family.
