Wedding cup

This is the historicizing version of one of the most popular seventeenth century Augsburg object. A splaying, rimmed part joins the bell-shaped skirt, fixing a half figure of a woman, holding a tipped, hemispherical cup in her two, raised hands. The whole surface of the skirt is decorated with flowery foliage, in four fields, separated with strings of pearls and line frames.

The story of the bridal beaker: a long time ago a goldsmith in Nuremberg wanted to wed Kunigunde, a young lady of noble birth. Her father did not like the idea and resorted to a ruse to prevent his daughter from marrying a penniless artisan. He would only allow the wedding to take place on condition that the goldsmith succeeded in making a vessel from which two persons could drink together without spilling a drop of its contents. He sculpted a girl whose skirt was hollowed to serve as a cup. Her raised arms held a bucket that swivels so that it could be filled and then swung towards a second drinker. The goldsmith succeeded, so he could marry Kunigunde. It is said that love, faithfulness and good luck await the couple who drink from this traditional beaker.