Wedding cup from Beuzec

Breton silver wedding cup. Marked on one side J. Quéridie ? in Beuzec and on the other Jean Kirisit in Beuzec. About 1820. Old man's mark. Goldsmith undetermined.

The worked cups date from the 13th century and are closer to chalices than to cups, in terms of shape. They were reserved for the elite, i.e. princes and prelates, who also used shallow but wide bowls to drink liquids. Although the habit of drinking from a cup was lost towards the end of the 17th century, it became customary, and remained so until the end of the 19th century, to give the bride and groom a wedding cup. This cup is hemispherical and flattened, on a low foot, with two vertical scrolled handles. Wedding cups are very rarely decorated on the body but the edges of the foot may be. The outer rim of the wedding cup is very often engraved with the bride's name or initials and the date of the wedding. Sometimes the name of the groom or his initials and the name of the village where the union took place are included.