Lacock Cup
Late medieval secular cup turned church chalice, now in the British Museum.
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The Lacock Cup is a late medieval silver standing-cup made for secular use, a rare survival. Early in its life it was given to St Cyriac's Church in Lacock, Wiltshire, England, which used it as a chalice. It is now in the British Museum, where it is usually on display.
History
Made in the middle of the 1400s, the Lacock Cup is considered a major surviving example of English medieval silver used for feasting. Most similar cups were destroyed or changed over time, but this one was given to a church shortly after it was made, so it remains in its original form. Following the English Reformation, church services needed a bigger cup for communion wine, and new laws banned religious imagery, so the cup took on a new role. It has been exhibited at the British Museum since 1962.
Sale
By 2009, the Lacock Parochial Church Council, facing rising costs for church upkeep, had the cup appraised at 1.8 million pounds. They sought a faculty to sell it, and the British Museum wanted to turn their existing loan into a purchase. Local resident Geoffrey Fox challenged the sale in court, but in December 2013, the Reverend Justin Gau ruled the sale was justified under the circumstances.
Did You Know?
- The sale was completed on 24 December 2013 by a joint bid from the British Museum and the Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, for £1.3 million.
- Funds were raised through private donations and grants from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund.
More in Chalices
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Lacock Cup (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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