DRILL. (1) A tool for boring or making holes in hard substances, such as
stone, metal, &c. (an adaptation in the 17th century from the Dutch
_dril_ or _drille_, from _drillen_, to turn, bore a hole; according to
the New English Dictionary the word is not to be connected with the
English "thrill"). The word _drillen_ was used in Dutch, German and
Danish, from the 17th century for training in military exercises and was
adopted into English in the same sense. The origin of the application
seems to be in the primary sense of "to turn round," from the turning of
the troops in their evolutions and from the turning of the weapons in
the soldiers' hands. Drill is, formally, the preparation of soldiers for
their duties in war by the practice or rehearsal of movements in
military order and the handling of arms, and, psychologically, the
method of producing in the individual soldier habits of self-control and
of mechanically precise actions under disturbing conditions, and of
rendering the common instinctive will of a body of men, large or small,
amenable to the control of, and susceptible to a stimulus imparted by
its commander's will.
(2) A furrow made in the soil in which seed may be sown, and a machine
used for sowing seed in such furrows (see SOWING). The word is somewhat
doubtful in origin. It may be the same as an obsolete word "drill," to
trickle, flow in drops, also a small stream or flow of water, a rill,
and is possibly an altered form of "trill."
(3) In zoology, the native name of a large short-tailed west African
baboon, _Papio leucophaeus_, closely allied to the mandrill (q.v.), but
distinguished by the absence of brilliant blue and scarlet on the jaws
of the fully adult males.
[Illustration]
(4) The name of a fabric made in both linen and cotton, and commonly
bleached and finished stiff. The word is a shortened form of "drilling,"
from the German _drillich_, or "three-threaded," and is so named because
the weave originally used in its construction is what is termed the
three-leaf twill, nine repeats of which appear in the accompanying
figure, while immediately below the design is an intersection of all the
nine threads with the first pick. It is essentially a warp-faced fabric;
that is, the upper surface is composed mostly of warp threads. In the
figure it will be seen that two out of every three threads appear on the
surface, and, by introducing a greater number of threads per inch than
picks per inch, the weft is made to occupy a still more subordinate
position so far as the upper surface of the cloth is concerned. Although
the weave shown is still extensively used in this branch, there are
others, e.g. the 4-thread and the 5-thread weaves, which are employed
for the production of this cloth. Large quantities of drill are shipped
to the Eastern markets and to other sub-tropical centres, from which it
is sold for clothing. In temperate climates it forms a satisfactory
material for ladies' and children's summer clothing, and it is used by
chefs, hairdressers, provision merchants, grocers, buttermen, painters
and decorators, &c., while many of the long jackets or overalls, such as
those worn by many mill and factory managers, are made from the same
material.
DRINKING VESSELS.[1] The use of special vessels for drinking purposes
may fairly be assumed to have had a natural origin and development. From
a practical point of view it would soon be found desirable to provide
vessels for liquids in addition to those serving to hold food. As in
many other commonplace details of modern life, we must turn to the
primitive races to understand how our present conditions were reached.
In almost all parts of the world many of the products of nature are
capable of serving such purposes, with little or no change at the hands
of man; in tropical and sub-tropical climates the coco-nut and the gourd
or calabash require but little change to adapt them as the most
convenient of drinking utensils; the eggs of the larger birds, such as
the ostrich or the emu, shells, like the nautilus and other univalves,
as well as the deeper bivalves, are equally convenient. Such natural
objects are in fact used by the uncivilized tribes of Africa, America
and Polynesia, as well as, in some cases, by the white races who have
intruded into those parts of the world, and adopted some of the native
habits. In Paraguay, for example, the so-called "Paraguay tea," an
infusion of the _yerba mate_ (_Ilex paraguayensis_), is drunk through a
tube from a small gourd held in the hand, and often handsomely mounted
in silver or even gold. In the same way, as we shall see, civilized man
has adopted nearly all the natural forms that were found convenient by
the savage, altering and adorning them in accordance with the taste of
the time or country where they were used.
Another line of development, however, has been found to be the natural
outcome of the human mind. Nothing could form a more practical drinking
cup than the half of a coco-nut shell or part of a gourd. Such cups,
however, in the countries where the plants producing them are common,
would be easily obtained, and every one, rich or poor, could possess one
or more. In order, therefore, to distinguish the chief's possessions
from those of his inferiors, his cup is often made with great labour,
from some more intractable material, wood or stone, though in
practically the same form as that of the natural object.
Early drinking cups.
Among European races in medieval times the same lines have been
followed, though for different reasons. Human ingenuity, though perhaps
originally inspired by natural forms, is apt to turn aside into more
artificial channels. The invention of the potter's art (see CERAMICS),
where the plastic nature of the raw material renders it capable of
infinite changes of form, gave rise to types of vessels having no
obvious or necessary relation to the productions of nature. In Britain
and in northern Europe generally, the interments of the races of the
Neolithic and Bronze Ages have furnished vessels of pottery of a
beaker-like form, to which the name of "drinking-cups" has been given.
It must be confessed that the evidence for attributing such a use to
them is slender, and mainly consists of the fact that their thin lips
would render them better adapted for the purpose than the other pottery
vessels found with them, some of which, on equally slight grounds, have
been called food vessels. The general use and acceptance of the term by
two generations of archaeologists is, however, an adequate reason for a
passing mention in this place. In the later prehistoric times of Europe
vessels of gold, bronze and other materials, including amber, were made,
sometimes of elegant forms, and would seem to have been used as drinking
vessels; still, this is again an assumption, though a fairly probable
one. A small gold cup with handle was found in a barrow at Rillaton,
Cornwall; one of amber of a similar form was found at Hove, and a third
of shale near Honiton. All of these doubtless may be referred to the
Bronze Age.
New forms found by Schliemann.
Schliemann found many drinking vessels in his exploration of the
superimposed cities of Troy. A pretty form is that found in the first
city. It is of clay, and closely resembles an early Victorian tea cup on
a high foot. This form is of interest, as Schliemann discovered the same
both at Tiryns and Mycenae, five from the latter site being of gold,
while the type also occurs from Ialysus in Rhodes in association with
bronze swords. This Trojan cup was found at a depth of 50 ft. below the
present surface and about 18 ft. below the stratum of what Schliemann
claimed to be the Homeric Troy. In his second city appears a different
type of ware, somewhat fantastic in form, one vessel being in the form
of a sow, while others foreshadow the _crater_ and _amphora_ of later
and more familiar Greek wares.
But the drinking vessel to which Schliemann draws most attention is the
tall cup of a trumpet form furnished with two earlike loop handles. This
curious and original type occurs also in the Third (or Homeric), Fourth
and Sixth Cities, with little if any change. Schliemann devotes some
pages to the discussion of the form, in which he sees the [Greek: depas
amphikypellon][2] of Homer, which has been more usually understood to
mean an hour-glass shaped cup, in which the distinguishing feature was
two cups, not two handles. He applies the same term to a drinking vessel
of a very different form, found with several others in the Third City.
This is a sauce-boat shaped vessel[3] of gold, made with a lip for
pouring or drinking at either end, and with two loop handles. This
equals those previously mentioned in originality of form; with it were
found others of gold, silver and electrum (i.e. 4 parts of gold to 1 of
silver). Of these three were shaped like 18th-century coffee cups but
wanting handles. In the Sixth City appear forms more nearly approaching
those of later times, particularly prototypes of the _cantharus_ and
_scyphus_.
These discoveries in the various strata of Troy may be taken as the
analogues in the Mediterranean and hither Asia of the later Stone and
Bronze Ages of northern Europe, with an allowance of some centuries of
greater antiquity for the former.
It is not proposed in this article to deal with the ceramic and metallic
drinking vessels of the Greeks and Romans, of what is generally known as
the classical period (see CERAMICS and PLATE). It may be mentioned,
however, that both on the Rhine and in various places in Britain,
notably at Castor in Northamptonshire and in the New Forest, were
factories where large numbers of _pocula_ or drinking cups were made;
those made on the Rhine and at Castor bearing legends to indicate their
use. Many of these are to be seen in the British Museum and in the
Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne.
Gothic and Scandinavian types.
After the decline of Roman power, the Gothic and Scandinavian races who
replaced the Romans in central and northern Europe brought with them
their own forms and types of drinking vessels. These, from about the 4th
century, replaced the well-known Roman vessels. The northern barbarians
were as great drinkers as fighters, and their literature recites with
equal zest the richness of their drinking cups as the power and deadly
qualities of their arms. Fortunately the practice of burying with the
dead warrior all his property, or at least as much of it as he would be
supposed to need, has preserved to our day the actual vessels in use by
the pagan northmen who pervaded northern Europe from the 4th century
onward. Saxon graves in Britain have furnished great numbers of drinking
cups and horns, in many cases quite unbroken. From the remains, of which
the chief series are in the British and Liverpool Museums, we can learn
a great deal to amplify the references in literature. The richest single
interment that has yet been found was within the present churchyard at
Taplow. Here under a huge mound lay buried a Saxon chieftain surrounded
by his belongings; arms defensive and offensive, his drinking cups, and
even his game of draughts. The drinking vessels consisted of five cows'
horns and four glass cups. The former were of great size, 2 ft. long,
richly mounted at the mouth and at the point with silver bands embossed
and gilt. The glasses also were of great size and of a type familiar in
Saxon interments. Each was of a trumpet shape, with a small foot, while
the sides were ornamented with hollow pointed tubes bent downwards, and
open on the inner side, so that the liquid would fill them. Such a plan
is most unpractical, and it must have been very difficult to keep the
vessels clean. Glasses of this uncommon form have not been found
elsewhere than in Saxon graves, either in England or in the north of the
continent. Other types are perhaps nearly as characteristic, though of
simpler construction. One of these is a simple cone of glass, sometimes
quite plain, at others ornamented with an applied spiral glass thread,
or more rarely with festoons of white glass embedded in the body of the
vessel. A third form is a plain cup or bowl widely expanded at the mouth
and with a rounded base, so that it could only be set down when empty,
in fact a true "tumbler." This feature is in fact a very common one in
the drinking vessels of the Saxon race. There are many other varieties,
plain cylindrical goblets, generally with ornamental glass threads on
the outside, and a more usual type has a rounded body somewhat of the
shape of an orange with a wide plain mouth. Many of all these classes
were found in the famous cemetery known as the King's Field at Faversham
in Kent (the relics from which are now in the British Museum), at
Chessel Down in the Isle of Wight, and in the cemetery within the
ancient camp on High Down, near Worthing. In Belgium, France and Germany
the same types occur, and even as far north as Scandinavia, where they
are found in association with Roman coins of the 4th century. On the
continent, however, additional types are found that do not occur in
Britain--one of these is a drinking glass in the form of a hunting horn
with glass threads forming an ornamental design on the outside. From the
wide distribution of these types, it seems certain that they sprang
originally from a common centre, and the slender evidence available on
the subject seems to point to that centre having been somewhere on the
lower Rhine. Although glass seems to have been popular and by no means
rare as a material for drinking vessels, other materials also were used.
A large number of the smaller pottery vessels would serve such a
purpose, and in one grave at Broomfield in Essex two small wooden cups
were found which, from their small size and thinness, were no doubt used
for liquid.
Of the later Saxon domestic utensils nothing remains, the habit of
burying such objects with the dead having ceased on the gradual
introduction of Christianity through the country. Manuscripts are our
only resource, and they are not only of great rarity, but in the main
rudely and conventionally drawn in their details. In those of the 9th to
the 11th century various simple forms are seen, some resembling our
modern tumbler in shape, others like a dice box. Horns as drinking
vessels certainly retained their popularity at all times, surviving
especially among the northern nations, and many of the vessels of this
form were no doubt actual horns, though horn-shaped vessels were often
made of other materials. Until we come to the 13th and 14th centuries
there is an absolute dearth of the actual objects used in domestic life.
And here we begin with plate used in the service of the church.
Church vessels.
The drinking vessel possessing the most unbroken history is doubtless
the chalice of the Christian Church.[4] Like other ceremonial objects it
was no doubt differentiated from the drinking cups in ordinary use by a
gradual transition, and in the early centuries it is unlikely that it
differed either in form or material from the ordinary domestic vessel of
the time. Figures of such vessels, apparently with a symbolic intention,
are found upon early Christian tombstones, and it has been contended
that the vessel indicated the grave of a priest. While this may be the
case, the similarity of the vessel represented to the ordinary
non-liturgical form renders the conclusion somewhat weak. Among objects
found under conditions which lend colour to their specific use as
chalices are the bottoms of glass vessels found inserted in plaster in
the Catacombs at Rome; but here again the Jesuit Padre Garrucci was
unable to find any evidence to support such a conclusion. It is not in
fact until the 6th century that the sacred vessel would appear to have
assumed a definite form. From about that time date the lost golden
chalices of Monza, representations of which still exist in that city;
and the famous chalice of Gourdon in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris
is probably of about the same time. All of these are two-handled with a
vase-shaped body and supported on a high foot; and thus quite unlike the
more recent medieval types. Two glass vases of exactly this two-handled
form are in the Slade collection at the British Museum, and may well
have been chalices. Another chalice, in the same collection, of the 6th
or 7th century, was found with a silver treasure at Lampsacus on the
Hellespont. It is of silver, with a cylindrical body and small expanding
foot; with it were found a number of silver spoons and dishes, the
former inscribed with the names of Apostles, Greek hexameters and lines
from Virgil's Eclogues. No doubt the whole was the treasure of a
monastery, buried and never reclaimed. So far as evidence exists for the
form of the chalice, the vase-shape with two handles seems to have been
mainly succeeded by a goblet with straight sides and without handles;
these latter in great part disappeared. Then came the rounded cup-shaped
bowl as seen in the well-known Kremsmunster chalice. An interesting
silver vessel, probably a chalice, found at Trewhiddle in Cornwall, is
in the British Museum. It is of plain semi-oviform shape, and dates from
the 9th century. The 13th century chalice was usually a broad somewhat
shallow cup, on a conical base, and squat in its general lines as
compared with those of later date. These gradually became taller, and
with a bowl smaller in proportion, following the tendency of the civil
vessels towards more elegant lines. Both civil and religious vessels
eventually carried this tendency to an extreme point, so that in the
17th century the continental chalices and standing cups had lost all
sense of true artistic proportions; the bowl of the chalice had greatly
shrunk in size while the foot had become huge and highly elaborate, both
in general form and in ornamental details. In Britain chalices ceased to
be used in the English church in the reign of Edward VI., and were
replaced by communion cups. These were much plainer in make, recalling
in their outlines the goblet form of about a thousand years earlier, the
sides of the bowl being concave, or nearly straight, as opposed to the
convexity of the chalice, while the paten was reversed over the mouth
and so arranged as to form a closely fitting cover. With the beginning
of the 17th century English communion cups again followed the civil
fashion in adapting the outline of the Venetian drinking glass, a shape
which has survived to our own days.
The materials of which chalices were made in the early centuries seem to
have been as various as those of ordinary vessels. Glass was undoubtedly
a favourite substance, perhaps from its lending itself readily to
scrupulous cleanliness; but wood, horn, ivory and similar materials were
undoubtedly in use, and were from time to time condemned as improper by
the Fathers of the Church. Pewter was in common use, and it was not an
unusual practice in the 12th and 13th centuries to place sacramental
vessels, of this or more precious metal, in the grave of an
ecclesiastic. Bronze was also used, and the Kremsmunster chalice is of
that metal, which was a favourite one in the Celtic church. But gold or
silver chalices were no doubt always preferred when they could be
obtained.
It may be mentioned here that it was a common practice in the 16th
century and later in England for laymen to make gifts to the church of
vessels of an entirely domestic character for use in the service. Many
of these from their associations, and in the character of the designs
upon them, were entirely unsuited for such purposes, and in our own
time, when a healthy desire has sprung up for the proper investigation
of such matters, many such unsuitable vessels have been withdrawn from
use. Domestic plate, however, being much more highly appreciated by
collectors, there has been a regrettable tendency on the part of the
holders of such pieces to sell them to the highest bidders; the tendency
is to be deplored, for while they remain the property of the church,
they are a national asset; if sold by auction, there is a great
probability of their going abroad.
Medieval vessels for common uses.
Mazers.
It would seem fairly certain that the ordinary drinking vessel of
medieval times was, like the trenchers of wood, turned on the lathe. Of
these the commoner varieties have entirely disappeared, having become
useless from distortion or other damage. Such as have come down to our
own time owe their preservation to the added refinement of a silver
mount. Vessels of this kind are known as _mazer_ bowls, a word of
uncertain origin, but undoubtedly, in the medieval sense, indicating
wood of some more or less valuable kind, and not improbably, in the 16th
century, maple or a wood of that appearance. Spenser in the "Shepherd's
Kalendar" speaks of "a mazer ywrought of the maple warre." Although such
vessels are mentioned in the inventories and other contemporary records
as far back as the 12th century, no example is known to exist of an
earlier date than the 14th century, of which date there are two in the
possession of Harbledown hospital. This type of drinking vessel was in
common use in well-to-do households until the 16th century, when a
change of fashion and the greater luxury and refinement dictated the
adoption of more elegant and complex forms. The ordinary mazer was a
shallow bowl (see PLATE, Plate II.) about 6 in. in diameter, with a
broad expanding rim of silver gilt often engraved with a motto in black
letter or Lombardic capitals, at times referring to the function of the
cup, such as:--
"In the name of the Trinity
Fille the Kup and drinke to me."
or,
"Potum et nos benedicat Agios."
Within the bowl, in the centre is often found a circular medallion
called a "print" with some device upon it, engraved and filled with
enamel. The reason of this addition may conceivably be found in the fact
that such bowls were sometimes made from the lower half of a gourd or
calabash, in the centre of which would be a rough projection whence the
fibres of the fruit had diverged. A rarer form of mazer has the
characters just mentioned and in addition is mounted upon a high foot,
bringing it nearer to the category of standing cups or "hanaps." The
famous Scrope mazer belonging to York Minster (early 15th century)
stands upon three small feet. Of the hanap type examples are in the
possession of Pembroke College, Cambridge (the Foundress' Cup), and All
Souls' College, Oxford, the former an exceedingly fine specimen, of the
third quarter of the 15th century. The form dictated originally by the
simple wooden cup was at times carried out entirely in silver, or even
in stone, mazer-like cups being found either entirely in metal or with
the main portion made of serpentine or some other ornamental stone. An
example of the former from the Hamilton Palace collection, as well as
several ordinary mazers, are to be seen in the British Museum. The types
above described are of English origin, with the exception of that made
entirely of silver, which is thought to be French. Most of the
continental forms differed from the English, and were more elaborately
finished. One of the finest is that which belonged to Louis de Male,
last count of Flanders. It is an exceedingly thin, shallow bowl of
fine-grained wood, with a cover of the same make. The latter is
surmounted by a silver figure of a falcon holding a shield in its mouth
with the arms of the count. The foot is of silver with lozenge-shaped
panels inserted, bearing in enamel the arms of the count. A German form
of the 16th century consisted of a depressed sphere of wood for the
bowl, with a silver rim, and a cover formed of a similarly shaped
sphere, called in France a "creusequin." Such mazers were furnished in
addition with a short metal handle turned up at the end, a feature
unknown in the English types. All of these again are to be seen in the
British Museum series.
Hanaps.
Although the use of wooden vessels more or less elaborately mounted was
continued well into the 16th century as a fashion, many other materials
of far greater value were in use among the wealthy long before that
time. Crystal, agate and other hard stones, ivory, Chinese porcelain, as
well as more ordinary wares, were all in use, as well as the precious
metals. The inventories of the 14th and 15th centuries are full of
entries showing that such precious cups were fairly common. Of gold cups
of any antiquity naturally but few remain; the intrinsic value of the
metal probably is a sufficient explanation. One of the most important in
existence is however preserved in the British Museum, viz. the royal
gold cup of the kings of England and France. It is of nearly pure gold
with a broad bowl and a high foot, the cover pyramidal. The whole is
ornamented with translucent enamels of the most perfect quality, and
with a little damage in one part, absolutely well preserved. The
subjects represented on it are scenes from the life of St Agnes, in two
rows, one on the cover and one outside the bowl; on the foot are the
symbols of the four Evangelists, and around the base a coronal of leaves
alternating with pearls; the cover originally had a similar adjunct, but
it has unfortunately been cut away. This is the only piece of royal
plate of the treasures of the kings of England and France that now
remains, and its history has been traced from the time it was made,
about the year 1380, to the present time. It was made by one of the
goldsmiths of the luxurious Duc de Berri, the brother of Charles V. of
France, no doubt to offer as a gift to the king, whose birthday was
St Agnes' day. It was, however, never presented, probably owing to the
death of Charles V. in 1380. The duc de Berri was not on friendly terms
with his nephew Charles VI., but on their being reconciled he presented
the young king with this cup. The troubles of his reign led to the
invasion of France by Henry V. of England, and the ultimate appointment
of his brother, John, duke of Bedford, as regent. The necessities of the
half-insane Charles doubtless caused this cup and other valuables to
pass into the possession of the regent in exchange for ready money, for
it appears in the duke of Bedford's will, under which it passed into the
treasury of Henry VI. There it remained and appears in all subsequent
royal inventories up to the time of James I. This monarch, whose motto
was "Beati pacifici," received with joy the embassy sent from Spain in
the year 1610 to conclude the first treaty of peace with England since
the Armada, and showered upon the envoy, Don Juan de Velasco, constable
of Castile, the most lavish and extravagant gifts. The constable, in
fact, was so impressed by the warmth of his reception that he printed an
account of his embassy, and from this work the main story of the cup has
eventually been traced. On his return to Spain the constable, a piously
disposed man, presented this cup, with many other valuable gifts, to the
convent of Santa Clara Medina de Pomar at Burgos, of which his sister
was Superior. Although it was a domestic vessel, a "hanap" in fact, the
constable elected that it should be consecrated and made use of as a
chalice at great festivals. And so it continued to be used from the
early years of the 17th century until about the year 1882, when the
convent having fallen upon evil times, it was decided to sell this
precious relic. A priest from the Argentine being at the time in Burgos,
it was confided to him to sell in Paris, and he deposited the sum of
L100 by way of security. This was all that the unfortunate nuns at
Burgos ever received in return for their chalice, for they never saw the
priest again. He took the cup to Paris, arriving in the month of
September, when the majority of the well-to-do are away from town. After
many failures to dispose of it, he ultimately succeeded in selling it to
Baron Jerome Pichon for the sum of about L400, practically its weight in
gold. The baron, after vainly trying to resell it at various sums from
L20,000 downwards, eventually parted with it to Messrs Wertheimer of
Bond Street for L8000, and that firm very liberally ceded it to Sir
Wollaston Franks for the same sum, and it was finally secured by a
subscription for the British Museum.
Plate I.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--ROMAN GLASS CUP. With representation of a
chariot race. Found at Colchester.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--TEUTONIC GLASS CUP. From a grave at Selzen,
Rhenish Hesse.]
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--SAXON GLASS "TUMBLER."]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--FRANKISH GLASS DRINKING HORN. Bingerbruck.]
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--SAXON COW'S HORN. Mounted in silver. Taplow.]
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--SAXON TRUMPET-SHAPED DRINKING VESSEL. With
hollow tubular ornamentation.]
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--THE ROYAL GOLD ENAMELLED HANAP. Made about
1380.]
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--SARACENIC ENAMELLED GOBLET. With French silver
mountings. Fourteenth century.]
Plate II.
All the objects represented on these two plates are in the British
Museum.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--VENETIAN GLASS GOBLET. With enamelled
decoration. Fifteenth century.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--ENGLISH "BLACKJACK." With initials of Charles I.
and date 1646.]
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--THE ROCHESTER MAZER. Presented by Brother Robert
Peacham. Sixteenth century.]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--CHINESE CUP. Carved from rhinoceros horn.
Eighteenth century.]
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--ENGLISH GLASS TANKARD. Bearing the Arms of Lord
Burleigh.]
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--COCO-NUT CUP. German, about 1600.]
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--SWISS "TANZENMANN." Seventeenth century.]
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--A GLASS "YARD OF ALE" (English). Eighteenth
century.]
Such is the story of one of the most remarkable "hanaps" in existence.
The word "hanap" is translated by Cotgrave in his French dictionary of
1660 as "a drinking cup or goblet," and probably was intended to mean
what would be called a standing cup, that is, raised on a foot, to
distinguish it from a bowl of the mazer class. Such vessels were chiefly
used to ornament the dinner table or sideboard, in the way that
loving-cups are now used at civic banquets, where, almost alone in fact,
the ancient ceremonial of the table is still observed to some extent;
and the loving-cup is the direct descendant of the hanap of the middle
ages.
Nefs.
Of all the ornaments of the table in medieval times the most conspicuous
was probably the "nef." This was in the form of a ship (_navis_), as its
name implies, and originally was designed to hold the table utensils of
the host--knives, napkins, and at times even the wine. Some of the later
examples which alone survive are carried out with the greatest
elaboration, the sails and rigging being carefully finished and with a
number of figures on the deck. The reason for the existence of such an
article of table furniture was doubtless the fear of poison. As in
course of time this became less, the nef changed its character, and
became either a mere ornament, or sometimes was capable of being used as
a drinking vessel. The former, however, was much more common, and the
number of nefs that can be practically used as drinking cups is small.
16th-century types.
In the 15th and 16th centuries the shapes, decoration and materials of
drinking vessels were almost endless. A favourite object to be so
adapted was an ostrich egg, and many can be seen in museums in elaborate
silver mounts; coco-nuts were also used in the same way, and Chinese
and other Oriental wares then of great variety, were often turned into
cups and vases by ingeniously devised silver mounting. The use of
drinking vessels either formed of actual horns or of other materials was
common in the 15th and 16th centuries, especially in the north. They
were usually provided with feet so as to serve as standing cups, and
some of them were mounted with great richness. An excellent example is
the famous drinking-horn in the possession of Queen's College, Oxford,
dating from the 14th century. The medieval beliefs about "griffins'
claws" still survived to this late date, and a horn cup in the British
Museum bears the inscription "Ein Greifen Klau bin ich genannt, In Asia,
Africa wohl bekannt." Another horn, probably that of an ibex, is in the
same institution, and has a silver mount inscribed "Gryphi unguis divo
Cuthberto dunelmensi sacer." The elegant natural curve of the horn adds
greatly to the charm of the vessel. In Germany the ingenuity of the
silversmith was turned in the direction of making vessels in the forms
of animals, at times in allusion to the coat of arms of the patron.
Stags, lions, bears and various birds are often found; the head
generally removable so as to form a small cup Switzerland and south
Germany had a special type, in the form of the figure of a peasant,
generally in wood, carrying on his back a large basket, which edged with
silver formed the drinking cup. This type is only found in wine-growing
districts, the basket being used for carrying grapes. In Germany such
cups are called "Buttenmann," in Switzerland "Tanzenmann." The royal and
princely museums of Germany contain great numbers of such vessels, the
Green Vault in Dresden in particular, while a good number are to be seen
in our own great museums. A curious fancy, combining instruction with
conviviality, was to make cups in the form of a globe, terrestrial or
celestial, which are still useful as showing the state of geographical
or astronomical knowledge at the time. Several of those made in the 16th
century are still in existence, one in the British Museum, a second at
Nancy, and others are in Copenhagen and Zurich and in private
collections. The upper half of the globe is removable, leaving the lower
as the drinking cup. Ivory both from the beauty of its colour and the
evenness of its structure has been a favourite material for drinking
vessels at all times, and would seem to have been continuously used from
the earliest period, whether derived from Asia or Africa, while the
semi-fossil mammoth ivory of Siberia has not been neglected. In general,
however, the vessels made from this material presented no essential
differences of form from those in wood, until the art of lathe-turning
attained great perfection, when a wide field was opened for ingenuity
and even extravagance of form. The most remarkable examples of the
possibilities of this kind of mechanical skill are seen in the
productions of the Nuremberg turners of the 17th century, whose
elaborate and entirely useless _tours de force_ comprise among many
other things standing cups of ivory sometimes 2 ft. high, exemplifying
every eccentricity of which the lathe is capable. Peter Zick (d. 1632)
and his three sons were celebrated for such work. Several pieces,
doubtless from their hands, are in the British Museum.
Glass cups.
The use of glass cups was not common in England until the 16th century,
Venice having practically the monopoly of the supply. A silver-mounted
glass goblet which belonged to the great Lord Burghley is, however, in
the British Museum, where there is also a very large series of Venetian
drinking glasses of various kinds, clear and lace glass as well as some
of the 15th-century goblets with enamelled designs, now of the greatest
rarity. The relations of Venice with the East were of so intimate a
character that the earlier forms of Venetian glasses were nearly
identical with those of the Mahommedan East.
A common type of Arab drinking glass resembled our modern tumbler (a
beaker), but gradually expanding in a curve towards the mouth, and often
enamelled. The enamelled designs were at times related to the purpose of
the vessel, figures drinking and the like, but more commonly bore either
a mark of ownership, such as the armorial device of an emir, or some
simple decorative design. This simple form probably has its origin in
the horn cup made from the base of a cow's horn and closed at the
smaller end. The later forms in the late 15th century and after,
followed the fashion in other materials, and were raised on a tall foot,
so that from the 16th century onwards the type of wine glass has hardly
changed, except in details. An interesting variety in one detail is seen
in the German fashion of providing an elaborate silver stand into which
the foot of such an ordinary-shaped glass was made to fit. Frequently,
as might be expected, such stands are found without glasses, and their
use then seems difficult to explain.
Another characteristic German type is the "wiederkom," a vessel more
conspicuous for capacity than for its artistic qualities. It is usually
a cylindrical vessel of green glass often holding as much as a quart,
elaborately enamelled with coats of arms and views of well-known places;
and at times when the cup was a wedding gift the figures of the bride
and bridegroom are seen upon it.
A very fanciful kind of cup was known in England as a "yard of ale," a
long tube of glass generally shaped like a coach horn, but ending
sometimes in three prongs as a trident, the opening in the latter being
at the end of the handle, which was about a yard in length.
Small silver cups were often made in dozens with various devices,
differing in each, such as the signs of the zodiac, the occupations of
the months, or figures of the classical gods and goddesses, engraved
upon them.
The tankard came into fashion in the 16th century, a practical, but
seldom graceful object. At first some attempt was made, by shaping the
sides, to attain to some artistic quality, but usually the tankard from
the late 16th century to the present time is found with straight sides,
either vertical or contracting towards the top, which is of course
always furnished with a hinged lid.
17th and 18th century types.
A material that has one obvious merit, that of being practically
unbreakable, is leather, and drinking cups were often made of it. The
flagon called a "black jack" is the best-known, and examples are very
common, mostly of the 17th and 18th centuries. A quaint fashion was to
have a leather cup made in the form of a lady's shoe; this, however, was
confined to Germany and might be thought in somewhat questionable taste.
In the 17th and 18th centuries a great impetus was given to the
production of curious drinking vessels in pottery. In England at various
potting centres a great number of cups called "tygs" were made:
capacious mugs with several handles, three or four, round the sides, so
that the cup could be readily passed from one to the other. Many of
these have quaint devices and inscriptions upon them. Another favourite
plan is to make a jug with open-work round the neck and a variety of
spouts, one only communicating with the liquid. These "puzzle jugs" no
doubt caused a good deal of amusement when attempted by a novice, who
would inevitably spill some of the contents.
The horn of the rhinoceros is much favoured by the Chinese as a material
for drinking cups often of a somewhat archaic form. The dense structure
of the horn is well adapted for the purpose, and its beautiful amber hue
makes the vessel a very agreeable object to the eye. The usual form is
of a boat shape on a square foot, and the carved decoration is often
copied from that of the bronze vessels of the earlier dynasties. Others
are treated in a freer and more naturalistic manner, the bowl being
formed as the flower of the magnolia, and the entire horn, at times more
than 2 ft. in length, is utilized in carrying out the design. One of
this kind is in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Cups of the former type
are commonly found imitated in ivory-white porcelain, and are known as
"libation cups." Rhinoceros horn is held by the Chinese to be an
antidote against poison, a belief shared by other nations.
Tea and coffee cups.
There is but little to be said about the vessels used in the drinking of
tea and coffee. In Europe the type has practically remained unchanged
since the introduction of tea and coffee drinking, except that in the
18th century the tea-cups imported from China had no handles, and were
generally thinner than the coffee cups. In Japan there is a ceremonious
way of drinking tea, known as _Cha no yu_. Here powdered green tea is
used; the party assembles in a small pavilion in a garden, and the tea
is made in accordance with a rigid etiquette. The infusion is stirred
with a whisk in a rudely fashioned bowl, holding about a pint, and
passed from one guest to another. The bowls are of very thick pottery,
never of porcelain, and the most valued kind is that made in Korea. In
the drinking of rice spirit (sake) in Japan small wide shallow cups are
used, made generally of porcelain, but sometimes of finely lacquered
wood. Both kinds are usually ornamented with elaborate and sometimes
allusive designs.
Savage utensils.
Among savage races the most peculiar drinking ceremony is that of kava
drinking in Polynesia, principally in the Fijian, Tongan and Samoan
groups. The best description of the process is given in Mariner's
_Tonga_. The principal vessel is usually a large bowl, sometimes
measuring 2 or 3 ft. in diameter, cut from a solid block of wood. It has
four short legs and an ear at one side to which a rope of coco-nut fibre
is generally attached. The liquid is prepared in this bowl and ladled
out in small cups often made of coco-nut shells, and these are handed
round with great ceremony. Both the bowl and the cups become coated in
the inside with a highly polished layer, pale blue in colour; but this
beautiful tint fades when the vessel is out of use, and it is therefore
very rarely seen in specimens in Europe. The kava itself is prepared
from the root of a tree of the pepper family (_Piper methysticum_); the
root is cut into pieces of a convenient size, and these are given to
young men and women of the company, who masticate them, and the lumps
thus shredded are placed in the large bowl, water is poured over them,
and the mass is strained with great care by wringing it in strips of the
inner bark of the _hibiscus_. The liquor is slightly intoxicating.
If the Polynesian method of preparing kava as a drink is distasteful to
our ideas, the favourite drinking bowl of the old Tibetans is even more
so. Friar Odoric (14th century), quoted by Yule, describes how the
Tibetan youth "takes his father's head and straightway cooks and eats
it, and of the skull he makes a goblet from which he and all his family
always drink devoutly to the memory of the deceased father." This
recalls Livy's account of the Boii in Upper Italy, who made a drinking
vessel of the head of the Roman consul Postumus. Among the Tibetans
skulls are still used, but generally for libations only; for this
purpose great care is exercised in the selection of the skull, and the
"points" of a good skull are well understood by the Lamas.
(C. H. RD.)