Staffordshire Stirrup Cup, rare covered Boar's Head c. 1870

Antique Staffordshire Stirrup Cup, rare, covered porcelain Boar's Head form, c. 1870 The cup is exceptionally well coloured and molded with wonderful and rare hinged cover painted enameled scene of a boar hunt. Height: 2.8 inches. Condition: Good no restoration. Reflections from photography only. While the form had ancient Roman precedents, they were most popular throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries. This type of cup was often presented to a rider on horseback — while their feet were in the stirrups of the saddle - when they were departing or arriving home, often from the hunt. Stirrup cups ranged from shot glass size to large, fist-sized cups. The beverage served in them was often a wine or spirit-based punch. Elaborate, detailed examples of stirrup cups were made in silver, but less expensive versions were available in ceramic, most often made in Staffordshire, England. Staffordshire manufacturers produced a wide range of stirrup cups, most often in the form of the heads of animals related to the hunt. Foxes, boars, dogs, rabbits, and fish all found expression in the form of stirrup cups with the molding and glazes lending life-like character to each piece.