A jug comprising various pieces of crystal and six adornments in gilded silver. The glass case of a reliquary, possibly Rhenish, has been used for the body, to which a base has been added, decorated with swirling flutes, all joined together with a late mannerist adornment, in a style that some specialists associate with the circle of the silversmith François Roberday. This type of vessel, with a handle that extends down the whole length of the body, a more or less cylindrical container and a hinged lid with a crown, are typical of the Germanic area.

Owing to its great value, objects made of crystal were often reused to make new pieces, becoming part of works that could assumme a different appearance, and sometimes a new function. For example, one of the pieces making up this water jug, attached to the lid as a crowning detail, may have originally belonged to a chess set.

The Museo del Prado has the photograph by Juan Laurent Minier, Vase cylindrique, cristal de roche taillè et gravè, montures d’argent dorè, XVIe siècle, règne de François Ier, ca. 1879. Museo del Prado, HF0835/34 (L. Arbeteta, in press).