✦ Germany, probably Bohemia, 16th century · 1568
A chapter of names around a glass
An enamelled beaker records several achievements and names on a curved surface associated with Magdeburg Cathedral.
Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon · CC0. Resized without cropping or recolouring.
Enlarge the photograph ↗✦ Photograph-based observations
How much of a collective display can one view contain?
A tall cylindrical beaker carries enameled achievements, lettering, dotted bands, and figures. The curved glass turns part of the display away from the camera.
Different armorial groups occupy separate areas on the vessel. Their proximity does not make them quarters of one coat, and one front view cannot show the full circuit.
What the record tells us
Cleveland dates the humpen to 1568 and associates it with the chapter of Magdeburg Cathedral. It reports a figure of Saint Mauritius, an inscription including his name and the year, and shields accompanied by chapter members’ names. The culture field retains a probable Bohemian association. [1]
✦ Editorial interpretation
What follows from the arrangement?
A cathedral chapter can be represented through several members' achievements rather than one institutional coat. The names and devices therefore need to be read as pairings before we explain the vessel's collective meaning. Its curved surface makes that task unusually concrete: a photograph shows only part of the sequence, and an inscription near the edge may belong to an achievement beyond our view. Another view or a complete transcription could change the pairing. Record that limit before treating the photographed arrangement as a complete membership list.
The vessel’s names are potentially strong evidence, but only if they are actually transcribed and connected to the right display. A partly visible inscription should not be completed from a familiar surname without a source. Likewise, the object’s recorded cathedral association is not a list of everyone who drank from it.
Claims and their evidence
| Claim | Evidence | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| A tall cylindrical beaker carries enameled achievements, lettering, dotted bands, and figures. The curved glass turns part of the display away from the camera. | Object photograph | Photographed arrangement; not a new dating or bearer identification. |
| 1568; Germany, probably Bohemia, 16th century. | Museum object record [1] | Catalogue date and attribution, with their stated qualifications. |
| The museum reports named chapter members and a Saint Mauritius inscription. | Museum object record [1] | The photograph does not expose every inscription or establish individual use. |
✦ Your turn
Explain what supports your conclusion.
Create a diagram of the vessel as a cylinder, marking what this view reveals and what remains around the back. Transcribe one legible name conservatively. Explain how another view could confirm the pairing between that inscription and a specific achievement.
Discuss your answer
A strong answer distinguishes the community’s many arms from one marshalled coat. It retains the probable geographic attribution, records gaps in the view, and does not infer a drinking event or individual owner from the presence of a name.
Take the research further
Seek additional rotational views or a complete published transcription. Compare the names with a dated chapter list, keeping membership dates and the vessel’s date separate. Ask whether the display records a moment of membership, a retrospective commemoration, or another programme.
Return to the related Academy reading ↗Sources and image rights
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Beaker (Humpen), accession1948.232. Record consulted 2026-10-10. The date above describes the artifact or photograph, not the publication date of this webpage.
- CC0 — image rights. The individual collection record permits this image’s reuse under CC0. Catalogue prose is summarized in our own words. Image credit: Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon.
Show the BibTeX citation
@misc{jhheraldry_object-magdeburg-humpen,
author = {{Cleveland Museum of Art}},
title = {Beaker (Humpen) (accession 1948.232)},
howpublished = {\url{https://clevelandart.org/art/1948.232}},
url = {https://clevelandart.org/art/1948.232},
note = {Original-language museum collection record. Accessed 2026-10-10.}
}