Bell Beaker
Unknown Artist
6th–7th century
Medium
Glass
Dimensions
Overall: 3 11/16 x 2 3/16 in. (9.4 x 5.6 cm)
Classification
Glass-Vessels
Culture
Frankish
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.193.340
Art Historical Context
This delicate Bell Beaker, by an unknown Frankish artisan in the 6th–7th, exemplifies the refined glassworking traditions of early medieval Europe. Measuring just 3 11/16 x 2 3/16 inches (9.4 x 5.6 cm), its bell-shaped form suggests it served as a luxurious drinking vessel, likely for wine or mead during communal feasts. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Medieval Art department, it entered the collection as a gift from J. Pierpont in 1917, its enduring appeal to collectors. Glass vessels like this were status symbols in Frankish society, produced in workshops across the Merovingian kin...