Wager cup (Jungfrauenbecher)

Hieronymus Imhof

Not on view

A “wager cup” challenges the user to drink from both ends without spilling. Made in the shape of a woman, her ornamented skirt forms one cup and the vessel held above her head the second. Once drained, the vessel can be turned upright to drink from the smaller, swiveling beaker. Hidden in the 1630s to protect it from looting during the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648), this object was rediscovered in the false wall of a Regensburg house in 1869.

Wager cup (Jungfrauenbecher), Hieronymus Imhof (master 1620, died 1635), Silver, partly gilt, cold-painted enamel, German, Augsburg

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