Bottle with cap - with the coat-of-arms of Druzsina Bethlen and Mihály Mikes on the cup

Prism with four sides and rounded corners. On the front, in a cartouche, is Christ on the cross on the rear side an Agnus Dei representation on the two narrow sides are grape clusters on the screwed cap are two crests with the inscriptions: "Mikes Mihal 1693" and "Betlen Drusian". On the rim of the silver cap is the master's mark M. W. The Transylvanian origin of the object is proved, as well as the Transylvanian origin of the persons ordering it, by the M. W. mark of the cap. According to Koszeghy, two masters with M. W. monograms were active in Transylvania, in Kolozsvar, at the time of the making of our bottle: Michael Werner and Mathias Werner. The dates of the activity of Michael Werner, according to Koszeghy, are: 1663—1664, 1672— 1674, 1702. The first known work of Mathias Werner is from 1705. We have no knowledge of which of them made the cap. The bottle was made in Porumbak, Transylvania. Here, in the last decade of the 17th century such thick-sides bottles were made, which could be deeper cut than usual, so that the golden layer stuck to the surface and when rubbed in, could remain in the grooves. The vine motifs adorning the sides of the bottle, together with the cross and the Agnus Dei representation, may be interpreted as references to the sacrament of marriage. It is known that Mihaly Mikes and Fruzsina Bethlen married in 1693 in Kolozsvar, in the Franciscan church. The cellar bottle — our object was originally for this purpose — had a specific function. In it was stored the wine prepared for the service. But not even the richly decorated pieces were so precious that they would have been suitable for presentation. The coat-of-arms and the monogram on them would not therefore represent the donator, his name, coat-of-arms or monogram, but those of the owner and thus serves as a mark of property.