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Wager cup (Jungfrauenbecher)

ca. 1620
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 520
A “wager cup” challenges the user to drink from both ends without spilling. This example is made in the shape of a woman—her ornamented skirt forms one cup and the vessel held above her head the second. Once the larger cup is drained, the figure can be turned upright so one can 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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Wager cup (Jungfrauenbecher)
  • Maker: Hieronymus Imhof (master 1620, died 1635)
  • Date: ca. 1620
  • Culture: German, Augsburg
  • Medium: Silver, partly gilt, cold-painted enamel
  • Dimensions: Overall: 8 × 4 in. (20.3 × 10.2 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Silver
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.190.579
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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