A massive silver tankard in the Rococo manner; the cylindrical body set with medallions commemorating the reigns of Romanov emperors and empresses and chased with rocaille scrolls. The bottom of the tankard set with a Catherine the Great period 1 rouble coin with a double-headed eagle issued in 1762.
Silver tankards and beakers set with coins or medallions with portraits of real or imagined rulers were frequently produced for Russian nobility in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Russian silversmiths elaborated upon earlier German models adjusting them to Russian political iconography. The images of Russian rules were used to demonstrate the succession power and legitimacy of the ruling house. In the late 19th century, the form was revived again but further embellished with Neo-Classical or Rococo decorative elements. such late examples can be found among the House of Fabergé’s oeuvre, designed primarily by the workmaster Julius Rappoport.
