Powder Flask of Jacques de Silly (1513–1571)

Unknown

1568 · Antler · Arms and Armor

The consummate works of an anonymous French artist, this flask and another in the Metropolitan Museum's collection (acc. no. 2014.191) are made of polished antler, and expertly carved at the front. Whereas one flask sports the heraldic arms and personal emblem of its noble owner, the other features a scene from the Old Testament, Samson’s victory over the giant Goliath. As is often the case, the metal mountings that would have capped the flasks’s extremities are now lost.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1568

Medium

Antler

Culture

French

Department

Arms and Armor

Credit line

Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913