alcohol (left)

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Two handles on a vessel can help the drinker steady the contents during use or more easily hand it off to a fellow imbiber. Caudle was a warm beverage of wine or ale, eggs, bread, milk, and spices that was popular in the 1600s and 1700s in England and its colonies. Flanking depictions of followers of the wine god Dionysus, the large painted eyes on the ancient Greek kylix turn the cup into a mask when brought to the drinker’s mouth.

 

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A silver cup with symmetrical handles, swirling raised designs and a small raised face on the upper half of the cup.

William Gamble, English, active ca. 1688–1732

Caudle Cup, 1715

Silver

Gift of Mrs. John Nightingale in memory of John Trowbridge Nightingale 75.117.27

A wide, shallow, footed vessel with two handles on either side, curving upwards. The body is black and tan colored with an abstract design.

Greek (Attica)

Drinking Cup (Kylix), 525–500 BCE

Black-figure terra cotta

Bequest of Susan Martin Allien 35.709

A terracotta wine jug with a thick handle, wide cylindrical base, smaller neck, a folded rim and brown and black decorations that are worn and depict abstract shapes and animals.

Greek (Corinth)

Wine Jug (Oinochoe), 500s BCE

Black-figure terra cotta

Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke 15.007