Beaker
- Gallery: Room 46
- Maker: Hans Timmermann
- Made in: Lübeck
- Date: 1500 (circa)
- Object type: beaker
- Materials: enamel; silver
- Museum number: AF.3049
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a beautifully crafted gilded silver beaker, created around the year 1500 by Hans Timmermann, a skilled goldsmith from Lübeck. The beaker is adorned with intricate engravings and partial enameling. A movable wreath of flowers separates the scenes on the body into two zones. Above, you’ll see figures inspired by Old Testament stories—Samson tearing a lion and the Woman of Timnath—alongside everyday scenes like a couple embracing and a knight holding a spear. Below, the surface is covered with floral medallions and birds.
The domed lid features more detailed floral scrolls and a Gothic cresting around its edge. At the top, a small, green-enamelled mount supports a knightly figure. The beaker’s base, once resting on three feet, still shows faint traces of their presence. This piece reflects the fine metalwork traditions of Lübeck during the Renaissance.
See it in person
Beaker is on display in Room 46 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
New, in beta. British Museum support has just launched and is still improving: over 1,000 objects so far, with more added all the time.
