Puzzle-cup in the form of a bowl with six spouts, tin-glazed earthenware painted in blue and lustre, Deruta, Italy, 1515-25

Puzzle-cup in the form of a bowl with six spouts, tin-glazed earthenware painted in blue and lustre. The bowl has a central column which communicates with six spouts that project from the rim. There are two reeded handles, one of which is no longer complete. On the top of the column, in a medallion, is a painting of a water-bird. Round the sides of the bowl, both inside and out, are palmette-like sprays of formal flowers and berries. There is a quatrefoil at the point where each spout springs from the rim.

Bequeathed by George Salting, Esq.

Tableware designed to accompany drinking related games gained popularity in the 16th century. The 16th century writer Cipriano Piccolpasso called these types of drinking cups as 'unruly vessels'. Della Casa's Galateo (1558) discussed drinking competitions and their occurrence in antiquity. Drinking and humour were closely related. A song in a northern Italian treatise refers to drinking games that were played on St Martin's day. Dice were used to decide how many drinks each of the participants should have and the order in which the individual drank.

Puzzle-cups (tazze da inganno) were designed to frustrate or challenge the user to drink the contents without getting soaked. Other examples of puzzle-cups do survive and indicate that these vessels came in a variety of shapes. Many of these must have been almost impossible to drink from. Several bear coats-of-arms which confirm that these types of objects were also owned and used by the more elite levels of society.

Puzzle-cups were designed to frustrate the user or to challenge them to drink the contents without getting soaked. Tableware designed to accompany drinking related games increased in popularity during the 16th century. The writer Cipriano Piccolpasso described these types of drinking cups as 'unruly vessels'. Drinking and humour were closely related. The bowl of this example has a central column which connects with six spouts that project from the rim. The cup also has two handles, one of which is incomplete. Other examples of puzzle-cups survive, many of which must have been impossible to drink from.

C.2195-1910