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Tumbler cup

Silver and maplewood

Date: Late 17th or early 18th century

7.8 cm diameter; 5.6 cm height

Provenance: The Rev. Dr. John Wilson; transferred from the Department of Antiquities in 1949

Bequeathed by the Rev. Dr John Wilson, 1873; WA1949.99

T. Schroder (2009), no.32

Mounted treen (wooden) tumbler cups are not common. A group of four forms part of a 'wassail' set of about 1670 in the Victoria and Albert Museum and it is possible that this cup also originally belonged to such a set. The wassail was a traditional form of celebration with spiced wine or ale, especially associated with Christmas.

Information derived from T. Schroder, British and Continental Gold and Silver in the Ashmolean (2009)