POST MEDIEVAL TANKARD

1700

Cast pewter miniature toy loving cup or wassail bowl with casting seams below the handles and across the base of cup. The upper rim of the vessel is missing and the cup is still filled with soil and stones, so would be lighter without. The diameter of the vessel tapers from the base towards the rim. The extant handle is squared off, joining below the rim of the cup and its body at right angles. The remains of another handle on the opposite side can be seen attached to the body. The style of the handle and the shape of the cup date the object to the 18th century. This two-handled cup was probably meant as a toy but was faithfully copying the pewter loving cups or wassail bowls of the time. North (1999) illustrates a similarly shaped pewter loving cup on page 99, No.119, which is dated to c.1730.Other examples of pewter cups and bowls with neat machined bases such as this can be seen illustrated in Bailey (1995) page 95, Nos. 1-2, which are dated to the 18th century.