Works of Art Exhibited at Marlborough House, 1854: Old German Tankard

Photograph of a guild flagon, or tankard, made of pewter. The flagon has a cylindrical body which tapers upwards and incorporates two horizontal bands of cast ornament representing the Sun, Moon and planets (Jupiter, Mercury, Saturn, Venus and Mars), seven Muses (Terpsichore, Erato, Calliope, Euterpe, Clio, Urania and Polyhymnia), seven Virtues and two Deadly Sins. The plain, central band on the body has three cast shields. They are engraved with differing scenes. Whilst not shown in the photograph, the shields depict a lion holding an axe, an ox's head and  a trophy of meat cleavers. This shields indicate the flagon belonged to a butchers' guild.

The flagon is currently held by the Victoria and Albert Museum.