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This impressive rock crystal vessel is an outstanding example of the work of the famous Saracchi workshop in Milan. Its plump belly is reminiscent of a pilgrim’s flask, and was predetermined by the shape of the uncut rock crystal. This large bottle is decorated with scenes from the Hebrew bible, which invite the viewer to look at the object from every side.

At the front we see the patriarch Noah planting a vine. A number of labourers are helping him. The back of the flask shows the episode known as Noah’s Shame, when his son Ham discovered him drunk and naked.

This masterpiece of gem-cutting was executed according to a design by the Italian artist Annibale Fontana about 1580.  Fontana made medals, as well as being a sculptor and crystal-cutter, and was related to the Saracchi by marriage. The Saracchi craftsmen breathed life into the biblical figures on the brittle glass, which is only a few millimetres thick. Even the figures’ muscles and the lively folds of the drapery are clearly delineated. This skill is known as “arte minuta” – or subtle art – and it was perfectly mastered in the Milan workshops.

The mount of this precious flask is appropriately decorated with rubies and emeralds. Another special feature is the gold handles in the form of twin-tailed sirens.

Very few rock crystal flasks have survived the centuries. The Dresden example is the largest of them. The Elector August treasured the fragile object so greatly that he kept it – not in his kunstkammer with the rest of his art collection – but in Dresden Palace’s State Treasury.