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Basse Yutz Flagons

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The Basse Yutz Flagons are a pair of Iron Age ceremonial drinking vessels that date from the mid 5th century BCE. Since their discovery in ill-documented circumstances in the 1920s and their subsequent purchase by the British Museum , they have been described as "great masterpieces" that "combine most of the key features of early Celtic Art ". They are in many respects very similar to the Dürrnberg Flagon found in Austria.

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52-397: The almost identical pair of flagons imitate the shape of contemporary Etruscan flagons and are made of a copper alloy that was skilfully beaten into shape from a single sheet of metal. The base was cast to size and decorated with 120 pieces of red coral and glass and then attached using resin. Resin is also used to coat the inside, which makes the flagon watertight. The cast spout and lid

104-427: A cup . A flagon is typically of about 2 imperial pints (1.1 L) in volume , and it has either a handle (when strictly it is a jug ), or (more usually) one or two rings at the neck. Sometimes the neck has a large flange at the top rather than rings. The neck itself may or may not be formed into one, two or three spouts. The name comes from the same origin as the word "flask". As a Roman Catholic term of use,

156-480: A cover and a boiled leather carrying case. It once had a triangular stand which has been lost. It weighs 1.935 kilos, so was perhaps used ceremonially rather than throughout meals. Practices in many religions around the world, including the Ancient Greek and Roman religions included libations , the pouring of a small amount of liquid onto an altar, image or just onto the ground. Some shapes of cup, such as

208-437: A cover, was an important prestige piece in medieval houses that could afford them, and often used as a "welcome cup", or for toasts. The form survives in modern sporting trophies , and in the chalices of church liturgy. The 15th-century silver Lacock Cup is a rare English secular survival. These were the sort of cup offered by cup-bearers , historically often an important office in courts. The English word "cup" has meant

260-703: A cup is brought in contact with the mouth for drinking, distinguishing it from other tableware and drinkware forms such as jugs . They also most typically have handles , though a beaker has no handle or stem, and small bowl shapes are very common in Asia. Cups of different styles may be used for different types of liquids or other foodstuffs (e.g. teacups and measuring cups), in different situations (e.g. at water stations or in ceremonies and rituals ), or for decoration . The history of cups goes back well into prehistory , initially mostly as handle-less beakers or bowls, and they have been found in most cultures across

312-402: A drinking vessel since at least 1000 AD . The definition of a cup is fluid, and is likely to be wider in specialist areas such as archaeology than in modern common speech. As an example, Anna Wierzbicka (1984) notes that in the 1970s the "older generation" expected a cup to be made of porcelain and have both a handle and a saucer, so that the plastic cup with neither a handle, nor a saucer,

364-521: A pair of Etruscan bronze stamnoi or vessels for wine-mixing that date from the same period (also now in the British Museum). Other comparable Celtic adaptions of the classical flagon shape have survived. Among them, a late 5th-century example from a chariot-burial at Dürrnberg (now Keltenmuseum in Hallein , Austria ) has similar animals to the three dogs, and human heads at the bottom of

416-454: A receptacle, especially, for soup . Recipes have been published for cooking various dishes in cups in the microwave. Although mainly used for drinking, cups can also be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cupping therapy uses heated cups applied to the body to raise the skin, for which a variety of health benefits are claimed. In the Western world, this

468-424: A trade show, or a city might hand out cups with slogans promoting recycling. There are companies that provide the service of printing slogans on cups. While in theory, most cups are well suited to hold drinkable liquids, hot drinks like tea are generally served in either insulated cups or porcelain teacups . Metal and glass cups can use a double wall construction with a vacuum-sealed space in-between to reduce

520-607: A tree) with two flanges at the sides of an ovoid cup. These are also called "eared cups" (耳杯) and "winged goblets". A form with a flange on only one side appears in ancient Persian silver, and then later in Chinese porcelain , apparently gradually developing into a shape for brush-washers on the calligrapher's desk. Most ancient types of cup from the Americas were pottery, but around the Gulf of Mexico, Native American societies used

572-567: Is a type of elaborate wooden cup which was used by the Swedish nobility during the Renaissance . Drinking from a cup is a significant step on a baby's path to becoming a toddler ; it is recommended that children switch from bottles to cups between six months and one year of age. Sippy cups are typically used for this transition. Like other cups for children, these are normally plastic cups. Special cups for infants seem to date back to

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624-399: Is attached using pins into a cutout made in the copper sheet body. X-rays reveal that the resin and the pins were the only materials used by the artisans to assemble these artefacts; although there is some evidence of solder that dates from the 20th century. The bases were apparently left open until the end of construction and the flagons were only water-tight because of a coating of resin over

676-549: Is mingled with the wine before consecration. The cruets do not remain on the altar after the preparation of the gifts. In the Anglican Church, the flagon is the vessel that contains the wine to be consecrated. If more than one chalice is used during the administration of Communion, the flagon (or an additional cruet filled with wine and water) is placed on the altar at the Offertory, and other chalices are brought to

728-495: Is more likely to be called a " glass "; therefore, while a flat-bottomed cup made of paper is a "paper cup", a transparent one of very similar shape, is likely to be called a " tumbler ", or one of many terms for glasses, instead. Penelope Stock, a lexicographer , stated that cups, mugs and glasses are "near- synonyms ", although "sufficient differences" can be found that divide them into different groups. Wierzbicka and Keith Allan (in his work "On Cup", 2020) compare definitions of

780-616: Is now the south-eastern US, traces of Yaupon tea containing caffeine have been found in pottery cups of an unusual shape: straight-sided, with a single thick spike as a handle near the top, opposite a slight pouring lip. In the Early Middle Ages glass remained in production in northern Europe, especially Germany, probably as a luxury material. Anglo-Saxon glass had several types of cup, most shared with continental areas, including "palm cups" with no flat bottom, claw beakers , glass horns, and different types of beaker. In

832-471: Is regarded as alternative medicine . Antimonial cups were made of antimony . If wine was kept in them for some hours, and then drunk, there was an emetic or laxative effect. Spa cups are special cups that are used to drink mineral or thermal water directly from a spring, developed in north-west Bohemia during the 17th century and are now part of Czech folklore . Chalices are sometimes used in heraldry, especially ecclesiastical heraldry . A Kronkåsa

884-663: The Neolithic , some shaped like animals, apparently just to engage the child. Many trophies take the form of a decorated cup, generally in metal. In cases such as the FIFA World Cup and the Stanley Cup , the competition itself may grow to take on the name of the trophy that is awarded to the winner. Owing to the common usage of cup-shaped trophies as prizes for the winners, a large number of national and international competitions are called "cups". For large examples,

936-548: The Royal Gold Cup have been used for both religious and secular purposes over their history. The word "cup" is also used as a unit of capacity: the capacity of a "typical" cup, varying slightly from place to place; it is mostly used in recipes. The measuring cup , an adaptation of a simple cup, is a standard tool in cooking that has been in use at least as far back as Roman times . Apart from serving as drinking vessels, cups can be used as an alternative to bowls as

988-625: The Stone Age and have been found at archeological sites throughout the world. A large number of the earliest cups are excavated from burials, and may have held offerings or supplies for the afterlife. Cups do not feature strongly in the earliest pottery found in most areas; the wares were thick and heavy, as were the carved stone vessels found in several early cultures. Probably cups in organic materials that have now decomposed, such as wood, bamboo and dried gourds were widely used. Large shells and birds' eggs have been used in some areas almost up to

1040-546: The jue , has a large pouring lip, and may be regarded as a type of jug rather than a cup. In the Christian ritual of Communion , adherents drink from a cup of wine (or a wine substitute) to commemorate the Last Supper of Jesus . A chalice is often used for this purpose. Chalices are usually handleless metal cups on stems; originally such shapes were standard secular elite drinking cups, and many examples such as

1092-526: The kylix , kantharos , skyphos , lip cup , and the breast-shaped mastos with no base. The Roman Empire used cups throughout Europe, with "goblet"-type shapes with shortish stems, or none, preferred for luxury examples in silver, like the Warren Cup , or Roman glass , such as the Lycurgus Cup in color-changing glass, or the spectacular carved-glass cage cups . By the 2nd century AD even

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1144-549: The plastic cup , in both disposable and permanent washable forms, and the paper cup , normally disposable. Materials such as processed bamboo have also come into use. Since cups have been an integral part of dining since time immemorial, they have become a valued part of human culture. Cups are used across a wide range of cultures and social classes . Historically, monarchs have been concerned about assassination via poisoning. To avoid this fate, they often used dedicated cups, with cup-bearers to guard them. A "divining cup"

1196-536: The rhyton is a cup that imitates their shape, to a greater or lesser degree, in metal or pottery. It was the general elite type of cup throughout the Mediterranean in the Iron Age , from Greece to Ancient Persia and beyond. Only some had feet or bases that allowed them to be rested on a flat surface. Large numbers were decorated with or as animal heads, or terminated in the figure of an animal. Other than

1248-637: The European Middle Ages the shapes of most ordinary cups were closer to mugs , tankards , and goblets rather than modern cups, in wood, pottery, or sometimes boiled leather . But the elite preferred cups with stems, and often covers, in metal, with glass a less common alternative. Large "ceremonial" or feasting cups, sometimes called grace cups or "welcome cups", and drinking horns , including ivory , with metal mounts, were important prestige pieces, typically too large to drink from all evening, so passed around or drunk from once. The name for

1300-591: The altar after the Breaking of the Bread. There should be only one chalice on the altar during the Great Thanksgiving. In New Zealand, a flagon refers to a glass vessel filled with beer available in public bars or bottle stores. Drinkers could take their own washed flagons or swap their empties for those pre-filled, corked, and ready for sale. The flagon was followed by the half-gallon (2.27 L) jar and

1352-698: The beginning of the European Bronze Age from around 2800 BC. The Ringlemere Cup is a solid gold cup, with handle, from around 1600 BC, with the Rillaton Gold Cup one of two such cups known from England, with a handful of other locations and materials (such as the Hove amber cup ) making up the "unstable" (round-bottomed) cups in precious materials from the Bronze Age. Animal horns must often have been used as cups from very early on, and

1404-503: The bottom with a human face. The idea of a dog or other animal for a handle comes from Greek and Etruscan culture, as does the motif of two crouching animals lying around the rim, as well as the head at the bottom of the handle. The duck on the spout is a Celtic addition to the scheme. The eyes of the duck and the dogs have been finished by using a complex drill bit and they were drilled by the same person. Both vessels measure just over 40 cm in height. The drinking vessels were found with

1456-424: The cup: Many languages − including French, Italian, Polish, Russian, German − use two separate words for mugs and cups. Wierzbicka suggests that this situation is due to a slightly different functionality: the traditional cups are designed for drinking while sitting down at the table, while the mug is supposed to be used anywhere. This, in her opinion, explains all the specific features: Cups have been used since

1508-710: The designs of palm leaves indicate cultural links to Egypt, and tin in the alloy would probably have come from Cornwall in England. The basic idea of a flagon in this shape comes from Italy, but these artefacts show that the people we know as "the Celts ", although illiterate, had a complex and sophisticated culture of their own. Flagon A flagon ( / ˈ f l æ ɡ ən / ) is a large leather, metal, glass, plastic or ceramic vessel, used for storing and pouring drink, whether this be water, ale, or another liquid. They are generally not intended to be drunk from directly, like

1560-475: The flagon is the large vessel, usually glass and metal, that holds the wine. Before March 2002, a flagon may have also been used to hold the wine during the consecration of the Eucharist and then be poured into many chalices. This pouring of sacramental wine from flagon to chalice was eliminated. A smaller container called a cruet is used for the priest's chalice, usually identical to the cruet of water, which

1612-540: The grave of an important Celtic dignitary from the local Iron Age . Unfortunately, little is known of the local circumstances of their discovery, as the grave was dug illicitly without the help of trained archeologists. Within two years of the discovery, all four objects were sold to the British Museum. They were bought for £5,000 which was a substantial sum, especially as many thought they were too sophisticated to be genuine. The Basse Yutz flagons represent one of

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1664-486: The handle as well as on the lid. Here the whole body is decorated with raised vertical ribs with an elegant abstracted design suggesting plant-forms at top and bottom. The flagon only uses bronze. Other examples are from Kleinaspergle , Hohenasperg , near Stuttgart , and Borsch. The two flagons and two stamnoi were apparently found in 1927 during the course of railway construction in the town of Basse Yutz , Moselle, eastern France. The excavators had probably discovered

1716-651: The high points of La Tène Celtic art. Very few other objects from that era can compare in terms of aesthetic quality and elegance. The two flagons were featured in the BBC Radio 4 series A History of the World in 100 Objects in 2010, where the flagons were put in context. At the time of their manufacture there were no cities in non-Mediterranean Europe, but there were small communities with skilful metal-working facilities. The flagons show also that these communities had trading links with more distant areas of Europe: shapes in

1768-436: The loss of heat and keep outside surfaces cooler. Disposable cups are intended to be used only once. They are often used by fast-food restaurants and coffee shops to serve beverages. Institutions that provide drinking water, such as offices and hospitals, may also use disposable cups for sanitary reasons. Some styles of cups are used primarily for alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, cocktail, and liquor. There are over

1820-456: The norm for cups intended for cold drinks, especially wine and beer. The "wine cup" that had been a major prestige category since classical antiquity was largely replaced by the wineglass , and cups for beer went the same way. The OED records the first dated use in English of "glass" as a term for a vessel, rather than just the material, in 1393-4. A new wave of hot drinks came to dominate

1872-560: The present. Very simple single-use kulhar cups in unglazed terracotta , and sometimes unfired clay, are still used in South Asia , now mainly at tea stalls, and are very similar to those found at sites of the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilization . The Bell Beaker culture , is an important archaeological culture named after the distinctive inverted-bell pottery beaker cups it used, marking

1924-537: The range of cups. Chinese and Japanese cups have been shaped as small, rather wide, bowls for some 2,000 years, smaller versions of the shape used for eating and serving food. As well as the Chinese porcelain that very gradually overtook it, lacquer is a prestige material. The same shapes are typically used in East Asia for both tea and wine or sake , and when they appeared in Europe in the 16th century, this shape

1976-506: The rhyton, ancient Greek drinking cup shapes were mostly very wide and shallow bowls, usually on short stems and with two handles, generally oriented horizontally, along the same plane as the mouth of the cup, rather than at 90 degrees to it, as in modern teacups . Survivals in ancient Greek pottery are numerous, and often brilliantly painted, but all probably were made also in silver, where survivals are extremely rare, as grave robbers did not bother with pottery. The most important shapes are

2028-589: The shells of the Horse conch for drinking cups, among other purposes. The tall, decorated and slightly waisted qiru or keru of Andean civilizations first appears in the Early Intermediate Period (100-600 AD). They seem to have been high-status objects. Maya elites drank from elaborately painted pottery beakers such as the Fenton Vase and Princeton Maya Vase with God L . In what

2080-445: The soul. Cards that feature cups are often associated with love, relationships, fears, and desires. Various cups have been designed so that drinking out of them without spilling is a challenge. These are called puzzle cups . The cup game involves rhythmically striking plastic cups. In the developed world, cups are often distributed for promotional purposes . For example, a corporation might distribute cups with their logo at

2132-408: The two-handled form based on the ancient kantharos is very often used. The size of many means that " vase " would be a more appropriate name, but "cup" has become established. Early trophies, mostly for horse-racing , were generally more simple goblet shapes. In Tarot divination, the suit of cups is associated with the element of water and is regarded as symbolizing emotion, intuition, and

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2184-605: The very wide ancient Greek wine-cup kylix ended up via Latin as chalice , typically a handle-less goblet in metal, used in the Catholic mass , but also a secular shape. Many individual examples have served both secular and liturgical uses over their history. By the end of the Middle Ages glass was becoming a much cheaper material, and over the Early Modern Period it replaced pottery and other materials as

2236-557: The wealthy tended to prefer drinking from glass, as adding no taste to the drink. An ancient shape of cup in various parts of Eurasia was the "flanged cup" with either one or two flat horizontal strips attached to part of the top of the cup, acting as handles. These are found as grave goods in elite burials from around the Warring States Period (c. 475 to 221 BC), in Chinese lacquerware (wood coated with resin from

2288-413: The whole inside of the vessel. They had evidently been well-used, and the chains currently attaching the stoppers on the lids are later additions that had been made to replace earlier fittings. The flagons are richly decorated with glass and coral inlays and a range of animals on the lid. Time has faded the coral but the pieces would have been brightly coloured. The handle is formed as a dog, terminating at

2340-483: The wide and shallow Greek phiale (Roman patera , more a dish than a cup) seem mainly to have been used for this, while others were used for both this and drinking. The rhyton , especially the types with a hole in the bottom, was one of many cup shapes used for libations. Libations were common at the start of informal social occasions involving drinking, where the normal cups were presumably often used. The most traditional Chinese ritual bronze vessel for libations,

2392-482: The world in a variety of shapes and materials. While simple cups have been widely spread across societies, high-status cups in expensive materials have been very important status symbols since at least the Bronze Age , and many found in burials. Modern household shapes of cup generally lack a stem, but this was not always the case. The large metal standing cup or covered cup with a base and stem , and usually

2444-584: Was 2 gallons (9 liters) or more (hence the "2 g" flagon). Before this change winemakers could only sell wine from hotels. A half-gallon flagon was a common volume used for beer. Cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking , typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about 100–250 millilitres (3–8 US fl oz). Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain ), glass , metal , wood , stone , polystyrene , plastic , lacquerware , or other materials. Normally,

2496-413: Was considered usual to pour the hot liquid into the saucer to cool it slightly before drinking. Apart from a more shallow saucer the essential elements of these two forms in many contemporary examples have changed little since the mid-18th century. European porcelain manufacturers encouraged the development of different sizes of cup, and shapes of pot, for tea and coffee services. The 20th century brought

2548-507: Was initially used for locally-made cups for the new drinks of tea and coffee . By the early 18th century, the European taste for handles on cups, strongly evident from antiquity, reasserted itself and a single vertical handle was added to a slightly more upright Chinese-style bowl to create both the very similar forms of the Western teacup and coffee cup , as well as a saucer . This was initially rather deeper than modern saucers, as it

2600-490: Was not a "real cup", while the "younger generation" made no such distinction, and used " coffee cup " or " teacup " to indicate the traditional cups. Twelve-year-olds had two different shapes of a cup in mind, one for hot liquids, one for juices. Names for different types of cups vary regionally and may overlap (in American English "cups" include " mugs " ). Any transparent cup, regardless of actual composition,

2652-399: Was preceded by the square rigger and the bluey. These were commonly used during the period of six-o'clock closing of bars. A flagon can hold different volumes of beer or wine and is thought to have originated from an amendment to the licensing laws, which took effect in 1881. The amendment allowed winemakers to sell wine from their vineyards for off-license consumption, so long as the quantity

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2704-488: Was supposed to be able to detect poison. In the Bible , Joseph interpreted a dream for Pharaoh 's cup-bearer , and a silver divining cup played a key role in his reconciliation with his brothers . The Royal Gold Cup is an exceptionally rare survival, made before 1391 for John, Duke of Berry , a French prince, who gave it to his uncle, Charles VI of France . It is in gold, decorated with jewels and scenes in enamel, with

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