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Cover for a Two-Handled Cup
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Due to its size and ornament, the vessel accompanying this lid may have functioned as a caudle cup, containing a mixture of ale or wine and bread, oatmeal, eggs, sugar, and spices that was given to women after childbirth to help them regain their strength. The scrolling foliage and exotic birds along the exterior of the cup were likely based on prints circulating in the 1600s. The reclining female figures capping the handles and the acanthus bud finial on the lid recall common architectural motifs.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineCover for a Two-Handled Cup, 1677. England, London, 17th century (Charles II). Silver and silver gilt; overall: 17.2 x 11.5 cm (6 3/4 x 4 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, In honor of William Mathewson Milliken in appreciation of his interest in Cleveland artists, 1958.422.b
