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.
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.
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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