Objects
Tankard
Alcohol
Consumption
Company and drinking groups
Inferred
[Taken from catalogue entry]
A three-footed tankard with a series of six pegs inside; engraved on body and cover. On the body above each domed foot is a cast and chased three-part leaf. The base is slightly convex.
Three of the domed silver pegs are visibly flush with the external surface. The handle is D-shaped with a central chased rib; at its lower end a separate C-section meets the body and is finished with a shield-shaped plate. Under this is a casting or soldering hole. The thumb-piece is a pair of seeded pomegranates cast and chased rising from entwined cast stems. The raised, slightly domed lid is set onto a right-angled strip fitting inside the rim.
The body is engraved with three different flowering plants with roots and pairs of secondary blossoms and buds. The lid is engraved with a stylized cluster of fruit. From this two stems, each with three different flower heads, encircle the central field which is engraved with mantling around a crested helm and coat of arms of Sayer, Kent.
Peg tankards are so called as they contain a series of cylindrical pegs which are soldered in a vertical row to the internal sides of the tankard. The pegs denote a measure of liquid; after one drinker had drunk their allocated peg measure, the tankard was passed to another. The term 'peg' probably derives from the Danish measure 'paegl', roughly equivalent to a pint. This example contains six pegs. Peg tankards have a long history in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries. British examples are known from Edinburgh, Newcastle upon Tyne, York and Hull, reflecting the established trading links across the North Sea. British peg tankards usually follow the Scandinavian form, incorporating pomegranate feet and a thumbpiece. The floral engraving also has parallel examples in Scandinavian silver of the 1650s and later, and is probably based on a volume of botanical illustrations.
This form of peg tankard was a speciality of York goldsmiths. John Plummer, the maker of this example, produced a large number of peg tankards.
Marks and Inscriptions:
'IP' in a quatrefoil between circles
fleur-de-lys and leopards head crowned conjoined mark for York
Creator
John Plummer
male
Silversmith
Production
Dates of Production: from 1655
to 1657
York, Yorkshire, England
Consumer
Sayer
[Not specified]
Consumption
Kent, England
Materials
Metal- silver
Metal- plate
Museological Details
Peg tankard
V&A museum
M.217-1938
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