Ginger Jar

This expertly crafted silver vase is based on the form of a Chinese porcelain ginger jar. Because it was made for display in a grand room, silversmith Jacob Bodendieck enlarged the proportions and added European-style floral designs and masks.

German-born Bodendieck, one of many foreign silversmiths working in London in the 1670s, typifies the cosmopolitan environment in which silversmiths thrived in the English capital. King Charles II invited him to England, where Bodendieck’s artistry and familiarity with the French court style of King Louis XIV were highly prized.