Wide Show-Thaler
Unknown
1541 · Silver · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Transylvania, a Hungarian province, supplied much of Europe’s silver and gold at the time. Alchemists regarded silver as the moon’s metal, imbued with magic powers. It was also the currency of cash, in particular the Thaler: a coin minted throughout sixteenth-century Europe. In an era marked by constant threat of war, precious silver vessels were literally worth their weight in currency—easily melted down in times of need. [Elizabeth Cleland, 2017]
- Artist
- Unknown
- Date
- 1541
- Medium
- Silver
- Culture
- Hungarian, Kremnitz
- Department
- European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
- Credit line
- Bequest of Gwynne M. Andrews, 1931
