• Design,
• Lifestyle

Close Up: Drinking Vessels

I’ve always found it so fascinating how different cultures interpret functional objects. Something as common as a drinking vessel can have so many forms depending on geography, time period and the technology at hand. There is no place better in New York to see the full spectrum of human ingenuity than the Met Museum. I’ve compiled a few of my favorite handmade drinking vessels, in all their forms…. cups, goblets, glasses, tumblers, beakers and kylix. 

 

Goblet, Egypt, Dynasty 18, late reign of Akhenaten, ca. 1345-1336 B.C., Painted Plaster (top left and right)

Goblet, Egypt, Dynasty 18, reign of Akhenaten, ca. 1345-1336 B.C., Egyptian alabaster/calcite (top left)

Cup, Iran or Iraq, Abbasid period, 9th-10th century, Glass (top right)

Vessel with Mythological Scene, Mexico or Guatemala, Maya 8th century, Ceramic (top left)

Tumbler, Greece, Greek attic, black figure ca. 525-510 B.C., Terracotta (top right)

Lobed Vessel, Indonesia, Central Javanese ca. 8th-9th century, Gold (top left)

Cup, Indonesia, Central Javanese ca. 8th-9th century, Gold (top right)

Beakers with Painted Inscriptions, Roman, Rhenish late 2nd-mid 3rd century A.D., Terracotta (top left)

Kylix (drinking cup), Greece, Greek 4yj-3rd century B.C., Bronze (top right)

Stem Cup, Korea, Silla Kingdom 5th century, Silver (top)

Cup, France, Saint-Porchaire ca. 1547-1559, Lead glazed earthenware with moulded ornament (top left)

Vessel, Iran Achaemenid period 8th-7th century B.C., Ceramic and paint (top right)

Vessel, Iran, Achaemenid period 5th century B.C., Gold (top)

Vessel, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kuba peoples 19th-20th century, Wood and fiber (top right)

Vessel, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kuba peoples 19th-20th century, Wood (top left)

Tumbler, Peru, Cupisnique 15th-9th century B.C., Stone (top right)

Cup, Nigeria, Kingdom of Owo, Yoruba peoples 17th-19th century, Ivory and wood (top left)

Beaker, French 1723-24, Silver Gilt (top left)

Cups, Germany, Franz Fischer early 17th century, Silver Gilt (top right)

Cup with Foliate Panels, Indonesia, Central Javanese ca. 8th-9th century, Gold (top left)

Goblet with Personification of Cyprus, Rome, Alexandria, Avar or Byzantine 700s, Gold (top right)

Glass Beaker with Leather Case, Central European, Silesia or Saxony 1175-1225, Glass (top left)

Cup, Chicago, American 1911, Silver (top right)

Glass Beaker, Central European, Silesia or Saxony 1175-1225, Glass (top left)

Glass Beaker, Germany 1475-1550, Glass with applied glass drops (top left)

Cup, Korea, Geumnyeongchong Tomb, 5th century, Glass (top)

Tumbler, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, Bakewell, Page and Bakewells 1827-1832, Blown, cut and engraved glass (top left)

Goblet with Incise Designs, Iraq or Syria, 8th century, Applied glass with solid stem (top right)

Cup, Iran, Abbasid Period 750-1258, Blown and cut glass (top left)

Glass cantharus (Drinking cup), Roman, Late Republican, mid 1st century B.C., Glass (top right)

Glass Vessel, American, Sandwich Massachusetts 1870-1899, Glass (top left)

Wineglass, Italy, Venice 16th century, Cristallo Glass (top right) 

Cup, French (Paris) 1728-1730, Rock crystal and gold (top)