Nested Cup Weights

Schirmer, J. P. · 1652-1698

Nested cups were primarily used by merchants to measure coins. Four examples of nested cup weights are found within the Squibb Apothecary Collection, all of which were manufactured during the (c.) seventeenth century in the Bavarian City of Nuremberg. At this time, as an imperial-free city, Nuremberg maintained a strong economy supported by a sizable middle class. Prospering within this class was a strong contingent of artisans who were considered to be the elite of Europe. Included amongst these craftsmen was a skilled and exacting guild of cooper-masters who held a monopoly over the world's production of nested-cup weights.