118 Tankard with images of Old-Testament heroines, c. 1610 Reverse glass painting: Hans Jakob Sprüngli Metal mount: Christoph Jamnitzer Double-walled reverse glass painting, silver, gilded, inv. no. KH 879 This ceremonial tankard (Humpen) with a magnificent gilded silver mount by Christoph Jamnitzer was created around 1610 and is one of the most remarkable works of decorative art in the Schwerin collection. The glass painting, executed by Hans Jakob Sprüngli in an elaborate double- wall technique, shows three Old Testament heroines: Judith with a sword and the head of Holofernes, the unnamed woman from Thebez with the rock with which she slew Abimelech, and Jael with a hammer and the tent peg she drove into Sisera’s skull. Sprüngli skilfully heightened the spatial illusion of the interiors, which offer views of the landscape beyond, by giving emphasis to architectural details such as a foreshortened tiled floor. He executed the figure panels in oil paint, working in the reverseglass technique – in which the paint layers are applied in reverse order, with the highlights painted first, for example. For the bodies of the figures, he added finely painted parchment, which he inserted with great precision, a process that has since come to be known as ‘deceptive reverse glass painting’. Only four tankards by Sprüngli using this sophisticated technique are known worldwide. _PP
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