This cup can be dated to 1820 by the hall mark on the silver rim. There is another example in the V&A collection, AP.728:13, and other very similar examples which appear on the market, rather naively engraved hunting scenes. The second V&A cup, AP.728:13, formed part of the 'Animal Products Collection' acquired at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 and later displayed at the Museum's branch museum at Bethnal Green. It is possible that cups like these were made by a single workshop operating from the 1820s to the 1850s, most probably in England, although evidence about the location of such a workshop is currently lacking.

The cups do not conform to the shape of stirrup cups used at hunts, so are unlikely to have been intended for use during hunting. They are more likely to have been made as gifts. Some, such as AP.728:13, are personalised with initials which were probably added by the workshop to order. They derive from a much earlier tradition of using animal horns as drinking vessels but the decoration technique is similar to 'scrimshaw', engraved work on bone or ivory traditionally carried out by sailors. The beaker shape would have made them suitable for use, and AP.728:13 is described as a cup for Madeira, a fortified wine.