This beaker was excavated at the site of Launceston Castle in Cornwall. This find forms part of a larger group of similar enamelled beakers, most found in excavations, widely spread over Europe and also Egypt and the Near East. One of the few undamaged examples, a slightly wider beaker in the British Museum, is inscribed: "+MAGISTER . ALDREVANDIN . ME . FECI :" [Master Aldrevandin made me]. The Italian name Aldrevandin can be found in Tuscany and Padova as well as in Murano. The wide geographical spread of the excavated examples suggests that this type of beaker was at the time of its manufacture an important luxury export product. This points to a major production centre linked with the main international trading routes, and Murano (Venice) is the most obvious contender. Archival evidence also proves that Muranese glassmakers painted glass beakers in considerable quantities during the late thirteenth and the first half of the fourteenth century.
Bottles and beakers formed the bulk output of the Muranese glassmakers in the Medieval period, and these were widely exported across Europe and beyond. Since at least the late thirteenth century, enamel-painting was practised in Murano to embellish glass beakers and these luxury items found their way to the dining tables of the most wealthy patrons. Many such beakers were embellished with arms and heraldic animals, often accompanied by inscriptions, appropriate for the most distinguished owners. This is also reflected in the nature of the archaeological sites at which such beakers have been found.