Nuremberg Luther Tankard dated 1719

06 März 2025

European Ceramics

Fayence

A Testament to Faith: The 1719 Nuremberg Faience Tankard Commemorating the Reformation Bicentennial

Nuernberg-Fayence-Lutherkrug-1719-datiert — Nuremberg Faience „Lutherkrug“ dated 1719, attributed to Georg Michael Tauber, H. 24 cm

Nuernberg-Fayence-Lutherkrug-1719-datiert-detail — Nuremberg Faience „Lutherkrug“ dated 1719, attributed to Georg Michael Tauber, H. 24 cm

Tankard Celebrating the Second Centenary of the Reformation
Nuremberg Georg Michael Tauber (attributed) dated 1719
Above the inscription:
Gott laß sein lauters Wort das er zuerst in Sachssen durch Luthern wieder gab bey uns noch ferner wackssen Anno 1719.
(God revealed his word again first in Saxony through Luther, it spread further with us. Anno 1719)

There are differing hypotheses in the literature concerning the Person at Martin Luther’s side.
The following protagonists are mentioned in attributions: Frederick III (known as „the Wise“) 1463 – 1525, Elector of Saxony, Johann Friedrich I, Elector of Saxony 1503-1554, (known as „Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous) or Gustav II. Adolf, King of Sweden (1594 – 1632).

Georg Michael Tauber

Copper engraving (Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg)

Portrait of Georg Michael Tauber
(1700 – 1735)

proven in the manufactory: 1719-1735

Tauber was not only a faience painter, but also a sketcher, as the number of his preserved works demonstrate. He is particularly famous for his depictions of the three owners of the manufactory in large portraits on high-oval faience panels (see below), which he created in November 1720 and signed in detail on the verso. The meticulous portrait painting impressively reflects his talent. Georg Michael Tauber is one of the artists who worked exclusively with monochrome blue and nine of his signed works are known to date.

Reference Object signed and dated

Georg Michael Tauber (1700 – 1730)
Maler in der Nürnberger Fayencemanufaktur (1712-1840),
Datierung
1720

Bildnis des Manufakturgründers Christoph Marx in Blaumalerei

Abmessungen
Höhe: 57 cm

Credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstgewerbemuseum / Karen Bartsch
CC BY-SA 4.0
https://recherche.smb.museum/detail/895104

Georg Michael Tauber (1700 – 1730)
Painter in Nuremberg Faience Workshop (1712-1840),
Dated and signed
1720

Depicting Portrait of the manufactory director Christoph Marx (verso see above)

Abmessungen
Höhe: 57 cm
Credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstgewerbemuseum / Karen Bartsch
CC BY-SA 4.0
https://recherche.smb.museum/detail/895104

Ovale Platte mit dem Bildnis des Christoph Marx in Blaumalerei.
Auf der Rückseite der Platte steht die Inschrift:
„Herrr / Christoph Marx Anfänger / dieser alhiesigen Nürnbergischen Porce= / laine Faberique Ano 1712 Ætatis Suae 60 / Georg Michael Tauber / Pinxit / Ætatis Suae 20 / […] [den] 22 November Ano 1720“.
Silvia Glaser: Nürnberger Fayencen. Bestandskatalog GNM Nürnberg, 2017, S. 35 f. (mit Abb.).
https://www.gnm.de/fileadmin/editorCMS/publikation/pdf/publikation198_pdf1.pdf (link zum Buch)

Reference Object Kunstsammlung der Stadt Nürnberg Fembohaus

Nuremberg Faience Luther Tankard
dated and signed
Georg Michael Tauber pinxit Ano 1719
(see below)

Iconography – The Candle as a Symbol

The iconography of the candle on this commemorative tankard is rich with Protestant symbolism, particularly in how it portrays the relationship between scripture and divine enlightenment.

Divine Illumination: The burning candle represents spiritual enlightenment through scripture. This directly reflects Luther’s core theological principle of sola scriptura (scripture alone), suggesting that the Bible itself—not church tradition or papal authority—provides the light of divine truth.
Christ as Light: The flame recalls Jesus’s words in John 8:12: „I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.“ The candle visually connects Christ’s light with the open Bible.
Reformation as Illumination: The light symbolizes the Reformation itself as an illumination of truth after what Protestants viewed as the „darkness“ of medieval Catholic practices. This metaphor of bringing light to darkness was frequently used in Reformation rhetoric.
The Holy Spirit: The flame also evokes Pentecost imagery, suggesting the Holy Spirit’s presence guiding the interpretation of scripture—another key Lutheran concept that individuals could understand the Bible through the Spirit’s guidance.

History of the Reformation 1519

Lucas Cranach d. J.: Bildnis Luthers, aus dem sogenannten Stammbuch (?) von Cranach, 1543, Pinsel in Aquarellfarben auf Pergament
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett / Jörg P. Anders

https://blog.smb.museum/reformation/

With more than a thousand copies and engravings from the Cranach workshop, the portraits of Martin Luther spread throughout Europe and made the reformer the most frequently portrayed man of his time together with secular sovereigns of the time.

Leipzig Disputation between Martin Luther and Johann Eck (1519)

The Leipzig debate took place two years after the issuance of Martin Luther’s (1483–1546) Ninety-Five Theses had inaugurated the Reformation in Germany. The participants in the debate were Andreas Karlstadt (1486–1541), a Protestant theologian at the University of Wittenberg, Johannes Eck (1486–1543), a Catholic prelate and professor at the University of Ingolstadt, and Luther himself. The debate centered on grace and free will and was initiated by Karlstadt and Eck in June 1519. Luther entered the discussion a month later, taking Karlstadt’s place. By that time, Eck had branded Luther a heretic, and Luther had replied with his own public attacks on Eck.

The excerpt below focuses on the authority of the pope and the Councils and touches on the interpretation of Scripture and the relevance of tradition. Over the course of the debate, Luther denied the authority of the pope and declared Scripture alone to be the basis of authority (over even the Councils and the writings of the Church Fathers). In response, Pope Leo X promulgated the papal bull Exsurge Domine (1520), which threatened Luther with excommunication.
Source: https://germanhistory-intersections.org/en/knowledge-and-education/ghis:document-10