Cup On Foot In Horn - Germany - Circa 1700

This pretty wine cup, probably of German origin, with a frustoconical shape resting on a circular wooden base, accented with a light veneer of horn, dates from the 1700s. The term "horn" refers to the organ located on the bony head of bovines (oxen, buffaloes) and caprines (sheep, goats) or at the level of the terminal part of the feet of these mammals. This living material has an important symbolism, in medieval literature for example, where the consumption of wine in a horn symbolizes warrior endurance and its physical qualities. Since the Middle Ages, wine has been both a drink, a medical prescription, a cooking ingredient or a pharmaceutical product because the water was not often drinkable or it was polluted. Each season has its wine, the summer rather clear and light, the winter strong and nourishing.