Gold cup

“ It’s only a thousand and the gold cup for the winner of the hundred mile race.”
[109]
“I know it, but it’s the cup I want for a trophy,” said Jerry. “We don’t really need the money, but I like the glory. Besides, going after a height record is rather monotonous, just circling about in a spiral. Of course it’s sensational for the crowd to watch, and that’s why the management offer a big money prize for it. ”

“ But I adhere to my supposition that all of those tall and brilliant red goblets of terra-cotta, in the form of champagne-glasses with two enormous handles, are also δέπα ἀμφικύπελλα, and that this form probably existed in gold also. I must further make an observation which is very important for the history of art, that the above-mentioned gold δέπας ἀμφικύπελλον is of cast gold, and{327} that the large handles, which are not solid, have been fused on to it. On the other hand the gold bottle and the gold cup mentioned above have been wrought with the hammer. ”

“ There is the trophy table. Let's go over. Perhaps the Gold Cup is there. If it isn't too precious to leave out in the open."
The Gold Cup was there. It was plainly—or, rather, flamingly—visible. Indeed, it smote the eye from afar. It made the surrounding array of pretty silver cups and engraved medals look tawdrily insignificant. Its presence had, already, drawn a goodly number of admirers—folk at whom the [Pg 192] guardian village constable, behind the table, stared with sour distrust. ”

“ A convenience that any victim of the afternoon tea will appreciate is a tray or elongated saucer, oval in shape. At one end is a rest made of gold wire, in which the cup stands. The other is quite295 large enough to allow of serving sandwiches, biscuit, or even a bit of salad without burdening the guest with a second object to hold. The cup stands firm in its place. Not even the jostling common in a crowded room will displace it or endanger that breakage which so often follows a crush. ”

“ I believe you might have carried off the gold prize cup won by Gilbert in the golf tournament last year, perhaps thinking it a lark. So I am prepared to say to you here and now, if such was the case, and you will immediately restore my property to me, I will say nothing about it. If you refuse, it will go hard with you."
"But Mr. Dennison!" expostulated Frank, "we have never so much as set eyes on any sort of a gold loving cup, so you can see how impossible it would be for us to hand it over to you." ”

“ Silver and gold work was often sent there to be repaired, like the cup he had in the bag, a silver wine-cup which the Bishop’s steward now wanted at once; but Guy wanted to learn to make such cups, and candlesticks, and finely wrought banquet-dishes himself. ”

“ This cup (cat. 39572) measures 8 inches in diameter and 21 inches in depth. The three handles terminate in eagles’ heads. The design pictures a battleship in gold identified as the “U.S.S. Oregon,” a head and laurel wreath with the words “U.S.S. Brooklyn,” and an eagle and a star in a wreath for the “U.S.S. Texas.” The base of the cup is decorated with three Texas longhorns with an anchor and shield. It bears the marks of the Gorham Silver Company.
The fourth loving cup (cat. 39538) is made of vanadium steel rather than of silver. This too is a three-handled cup. ”

“ And the King causes to be proclaimed what gift he will bestow upon him who shall effect the surrender of the town: a cup of great price weighing fifteen marks of gold, the richest in his treasure, shall be his reward. The cup will be very fine and rich, and, to tell the truth, the cup is to be esteemed for the workmanship rather than for the material of which it is made. ”

“ If that cup could have told its story, it would have been a strange one, for it had been made long since, in the old Roman times, and been carried off from Italy by some Northman pirate.
From one of these scenes of activity to the other, there moved a stately old lady: her long thick light hair, hardly touched with grey, was bound round her head, under a tall white cap, with a band passing under her chin: she wore a long sweeping dark robe, with wide hanging sleeves, and thick gold ear-rings and necklace, which had possibly come from the same quarter as the cup. ”

“ The great tumulus at Carne was opened in 1855, and within was found a kist-vaen of unhewn stones, covered with limestone boulders; but in the kist were only ashes, pieces of charcoal, and burnt dust. Objects of gold are rarely found in barrows; but in the neighbourhood of the Cheesewring was a persistent story that at some former time a golden cup was actually dug out of a barrow near by. In course of time the tradition was found to be true, and the cup is now in the king's collection. ”

“ Herodotus and Hellanicus both say that they drank wine out of brass or bronze goblets; and, indeed, the former affirms that this was the only kind of drinking-cup known to the Egyptians; but Joseph had one of silver, and the sculptures represent them of glass and porcelain, as well as of gold, silver and bronze. Those who could not afford the more costly kind were satisfied with a cheaper quality, and many were contented with cups of common earthenware ”

“ It was before that cup, which marked the place of honor, that the stranger was placed with Joel at his left and Mamm' Margarid at his right.
The old men, the young girls and the children then ranked themselves around the table. The grown up and the young men sat down behind these in a second row, from which they rose from time to time to perform some service, or, every time that, passing from hand to hand, beginning with the stranger, the large cup was empty, to fill it from a barrel of hydromel, that was placed at a corner of the hall. ”

“ The gold appears to be incorporated with the glass; it must have been laid on at an early stage, for it lies scattered in detached fragments, and this is undoubtedly caused by the dragging of the glass, while still soft, during the process of manufacture. This manner of applying gold was used with great effect by the Venetians during the finest period—before and after 1500. Notice especially a little cup of thin white glass in the British Museum, on which the decoration is confined to a delicate powdering of gold of this nature. ”

“ To begin with I invested one shilling on the handle-less cup blue and gold, marked “T,” and I concluded this identified it with Tebo and Bristol; next I was sold the blue-and-white coffee cup marked with crossed swords and guaranteed “Worcester”; then I bought the spill-holder with crossed swords. All these at different times and places. Later I spotted a dirty teapot, with no mark and no gilt, which when washed looked well. It was evidently closely related to the coffee-cup in decoration and age, and was undoubtedly old Bristol. ”

“ As cut. Assorted in three tints, rich gold bead decoration, gold top band; 1 dozen assorted in package $ 3 60 212/2. Similar to above, assorted in three shaded tints and rich gold decorations; 1 dozen assorted in package 3 60 212/3. Maroon tint, heavy gold rim, two rows of gold beads, assorted color base border; 1 dozen assorted in package 3 60 212/7. Solid gold, assorted in three shapes; 1 dozen in package 3 60 E. L. & S. WARE.
No. 207/1466. Dozen. 207/1466. Tea cup and saucer. As cut. Good quality German china with gold edge, line and sprig. Cup is 3 inches high and 31⁄8 inches wide ”

“ To fill a cup while holding it in the hand is not so good as to let it alone, or, as we say, it is hard to carry a full cup even.34 Too sharp an edge cannot be kept on a tool, and a hall full of gold and precious stones cannot be defended; and he who is wanton in prosperity leaves a legacy of misfortune. ”

“ Figure 12.—Cup and saucer of Chinese export porcelain with scalloped edges and fluting. The painted decoration of black floral design on the side of the cup is touched with gold; the borders are of intersecting black vines and ribbons. (USNM 284499; Smithsonian photo 45141-D.)
Figure 13.—Hand-painted Staffordshire creamware teacup excavated at the site of a probable 18th-century and early 19th-century china shop in Newburyport, Massachusetts. ”

“ I also found several fragments of cups, the lower part of which likewise forms a cup, but not a large one, and hence I do not doubt that these are fragments of double cups (δέπας ἀμφικύπελλον) . In Homer it indeed seems as if all{129} double cups were made of gold or silver with a gilt rim, [131] but I do not doubt that there were at the same time also double cups made of clay. [132]
No. ”

“ This is probably because the Reading of the Tea-cups affords but little opportunity to the Seer of extracting money from credulous folk; a reason why it was never adopted by the gypsy soothsayers, who preferred the more obviously lucrative methods of crossing the palm with gold or silver, or of charging a fee for manipulating a pack of playing-cards. ”

“ At all times cups are alluring decoctions, don’t you think? And there are many varieties of them. But they all begin in the same way. A cordial glass each of maraschino, benedictine and brandy put into a quart jug, and then if you fill the jug with champagne you have champagne cup, with Rhine wine you have Rhine wine cup, and with cider you have cider cup. If you use claret you add a few drops of lemon juice and double the quantity of maraschino. ”

“ Families of consequence had usually a few pieces of silver besides their spoons and the silver salt. Some kind of a drinking-cup was the usual form. Persons of moderate means often owned a silver cup. I have seen in early inventories and lists the [91] names of a large variety of silver vessels: tankards, beer-bowls, beakers, flagons, wine cups, wine bowls, wine cans, tasters, caudle-cups, posset-cups, dram-cups, punch-bowls, tumblers, mugs, dram bottles, two-eared cups, and flasks. Virginians and Marylanders in the seventeenth century had much more silver than New Englanders. ”

“ The Grace-cup and Loving-cup appear to be synonymous terms for a beverage the drinking of which has been from time immemorial a great feature at the corporation dinners in London and other large towns, as also at the feasts of the various trade companies and the Inns of Court, and which is a compound of wine and spices, formerly called "Sack." It is handed round the table before the removal of the cloth, in large silver cups, from which no one is allowed to drink before the guest on either side of him has stood up; the person who drinks then rises and bows to his neighbours. ”

“ It is more difficult to do it straight: the dust of the earth, so disturbed, is more grateful than for merely rhythmic footsteps. Golden cups, also, given for good ploughing would be more suitable in colour (ruby glass, for the wine which "giveth his colour" on the ground, as well as in the cup, might be fitter for the rifle prize in the ladies' hands) ”

“ The royal cup-bearer brought a golden goblet filled to the brim, and he quaffed it down like mother's milk; so--the cup still in his hands that hung between his knees--sat drinking in that intoxicating beauty of the splendid world. ”

“ The vessels from which they drank were generally made of wood, decorated with gold and silver, and crowned with garlands, as also were their heads, particular flowers and herbs being selected, which were supposed to keep all noxious vapours from the brain. In some cases their cups were formed entirely of gold, silver, or bronze. ”

“ In public assemblies the wine-cup was never raised to the lips without previously invoking a blessing from a supposed good deity, from which custom it is probable that the grace-cup of later days took its origin; and at the conclusion of their feast, a cup was quaffed to their good genius, termed "poculum boni Dei," which corresponds in the present day with the "coup d'étrier" of the French, the "dock un dorish" of the Highland Scotch, and the "parting-pot" of our own country. The Romans also frequently drank the healths of their Emperors ”

“ If, however, he or she is not in such deadly earnest, but merely indulging in a harmless pastime, such an effort of concentration need not be made. The 'willing' is, of course, akin to 'wishing' when cutting the cards in another time-honoured form of fortune-telling.
The cup to be read should be held in the hand and turned about in order to read the symbols without disturbing them, which will not happen if the moisture has been properly drained away. The handle of the cup represents the consultant and is akin to the 'house' in divination by the cards. ”

“ The heavy ornament of lion’s head and handles, the massive gadrooned edge of the scalloped design, the bowl deeply fluted, the embossed medallion with coat of arms, and the foot enriched with beaded ornament, all indicate that such specimens were regarded as the Standing Cup, so to speak, of the period.
With the punch-bowl an end practically is made of silver vessels for drinking. The sovereignty of glass was now established. Porcelain and even earthenware had made inroads into the silversmith’s domain. The age of modernity was at hand. ”

“ It's like eating on the grass, which is as unpleasant as can be; nobody likes eating on the grass but lovers, and they are thinking of something besides eating. As for your cups, they're pretty to look at, I agree, but they're less convenient for drinking than glasses, and the champagne doesn't foam so much in a cup ”

“ This beverage, though somewhat too potent for modern palates, may, by proper dilution, be rendered no unworthy cup even in the present age. From the same noble hand we get a recipe for Sack Posset, which full well shows us propriety of taste in its compounder. "Boil a quart of cream with quantum sufficit of sugar, mace, and nutmeg; take half a pint of sack, and the same quantity of ale, and boil them well together, adding sugar; these, being boiled separately, are now to be added. Heat a pewter dish very hot, and cover your basin with it, and let it stand by the fire for two or three hours." ”