This drinking vessel is cleverly designed so that its lid can be used as a sharing cup. The heraldic arms on the lid—three Jewish hats linked at the center—correspond to those of a Jewish family from Zurich. Circling the lid are the names associated with the Magi who, in Christian belief, paid homage to the baby Jesus. Doctors in fourteenth-century Europe, Christians and Jews alike, suggested giving voice to the names "Caspar, Balthasar, Melchior" to promote good health. Inscribed on a drinking cup, the names serve much like a toast.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Double Cup
Date:1325–50
Geography:Made in possibly Prague
Culture:German or Bohemian
Medium:Silver, gilded silver, and enamel
Dimensions:Overall (together): 3 x 4 15/16 x 4 3/16 in. (7.6 x 12.5 x 10.7 cm) Bowl only: 2 5/16 x 4 15/16 x 4 3/16 in. (5.8 x 12.5 x 10.7 cm) Lid only: 1 7/16 x 3 3/4 in. (3.6 x 9.5 cm)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Mirror of the Medieval World," March 9–June 1, 1999.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Prague, The Crown of Bohemia 1347-1437," September 19, 2005–January 3, 2006.
Prague Castle. "Charles IV, Emperor through the Grace of God: Culture and Art in the Time of the Last Luxembourgs, 1347–1437," February 16–May 21, 2006.
Prague, Czech Republic. Picture Gallery, Prague Castle. "Karel IV., císař boží milosti: kultura a umění za vlády posledních lucemburků 1347-1437," February 16, 2006–May 21, 2006.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions," October 24, 2008–February 1, 2009.
Ulm, Germany. Ulmer Museum. "Glaubensfragen: Chatrooms auf dem Weg in die Neuzeit," February 26, 2016–July 3, 2016.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters. "The Colmar Treasure: A Medieval Jewish Legacy," July 22, 2019–January 12, 2020.
Wixom, William D. "Curatorial Reports and Departmental Accessions." Annual Report of the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 113 (Jul. 1, 1982–Jun. 30, 1983). p. 41.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Notable Acquisitions, 1982-1983 (Metropolitan Museum of Art) (1983). pp. 19–21.
Parker, Elizabeth C. "Recent Major Acquisitions of Medieval Art by American Museums." Gesta 23, no. 1 (1984). p. 70, fig. 7.
Shepard, Mary B. Europe in the Middle Ages, edited by Charles T. Little, and Timothy B. Husband. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. p. 102, pl. 95.
Young, Bonnie. A Walk Through The Cloisters. 5th ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1988. p. 111.
Wixom, William D., ed. Mirror of the Medieval World. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999. no. 178, pp. 152–53.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. no. 64, pp. 100, 196.
Boehm, Barbara Drake, and Jiri Fajt, ed. Prague: The Crown of Bohemia, 1347–1437. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. no. 75, pp. 209–10.
Mann, Vivian B. "The Artistic Culture of Prague Jewry." In Prague: The Crown of Bohemia, 1347–1437, edited by Barbara Drake Boehm, and Jiri Fajt. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. p. 88, [as cat. no. 75].
Norris, Michael. Medieval Art: A Resource for Educators. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. no. 29, pp. 116–19.
Fajt, Jiri, and Barbara Drake Boehm, ed. Karel IV., Císař Boží Milosti: Kultura a Umění za Vlády Posledních Lucemburků 1347–1437 (Charles IV, Emperor by the Grace of God: Culture and Art in the Reign of the Last of the Luxembourgs 1347–1437). Prague: Prague Castle Administration, 2006. no. 11.6.2, p. 88.
Fajt, Jiri, and Barbara Drake Boehm, ed. Karl IV., Kaiser von Gottes Gnaden: Kunst und Repräsentation des Hauses Luxemburg 1310-1437. Munich: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2006. no. 100, pp. 285–86.
Evans, Helen C., ed. The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions – Online Catalogue. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. 75th Anniversary ed. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012. p. 102.
Heimann-Jelinek, Felicitas, ed. Glaubensfragen: Chatrooms auf dem Weg in die Neuzeit / Questions of Faith: Chatrooms at the Dawn of the Modern Era. Ulm: Ulmer Museum, 2016. pp. 30–31.
Boehm, Barbara Drake. The Colmar Treasure: A Medieval Jewish Legacy. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019. no. 29, pp. 18, 79, fig. 22, pl. 29.
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