Cup

Inscribed "Mrs. Mary Sandbach her Cup anno dom 1720," this vessel is the earliest dated piece of English white salt-glazed stoneware presently known. The two-handled form follows silver shapes of the period and suggests communal consumption of an alcoholic beverage. Vessels in this case were used for serving and drinking two hot, alcohol-based beverages: posset and caudle. A typical posset recipe consisted of cream, wine or ale, spices, sugar and eggs. Although posset was considered both nutritional and medicinal, it was also a popular beverage served at social gatherings. A properly made posset consisted of three layers: a frothy foam, a floating custard formed by the alcohol-curdled milk that was eaten with a spoon and the alcohol-rich liquid that sank to the bottom and was drunk or poured through the spout. Served in bulbous cups, caudle was also made with wine or ale, spices, sugar and eggs but included gruel of oatmeal or breadcrumbs.

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Frank P. Burnap