Goblet

Gerardin & Watson, London

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pubs or public houses were establishments licensed to sell alcoholic beverages to their customers, which became popular places for social gatherings. British law required that all food and drink be served in imperial measurements, so public house owners kept pewter drinking cups of different sizes and shapes with their capacity prominently marked on the outside. This example is a footed goblet, a form that attained widespread use in the nineteenth century. It bears a measurement stamp "1/2 PINT" and features the inscription "R. FIELDING’S BLACK BOY," which likely refers to the name of the public house in which it was used.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art