Une chope couverte dite tankard en ivoire sculpté à décor d'une scène de bataille, Allemagne, vers 1870

H 47 cm

The bottom decorated with the armorial of the Porcia/Portia family and the chain of the Golden Fleece.

The Porcia (also spelled Porzia or Portia) are a noble family that originally came from Friuli. The coat of arms shows six golden fleur-de-lis on top of each other on a blue background, with an upper bar at the end. Little is known about the origin of the coat of arms. According to a legend, an ancestor of the Porcia  went to France to obtain the privilege for keeping the lilies on a blue field in his coat of arms, which he was also granted (link). The most famous member of the Porcia  family was Johann-Ferdinand von Portia, Obersthofmeister of Archduke Leopold (later Emperor Leopold I). Porcia was crucial in shaping Leopold's upbringing and he played an important role in the complicated election of the emperor in 1658. After Leopold's successful accession to the throne, he became imperial mayor and chairman of the secret council. He was the Emperor's first minister. King Philip IV of Spain accepted him in the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1657 (link). The Order of the Golden Fleece was established in 1430/31 by Duke of Burgundy Philip the Good to tighten the bonds between his vassals and friendly foreign princes and himself (link).