Cup

For other uses, seeCup (disambiguation).

Acupis an open-top vessel (container) used to holdliquidsfordrinking,typically with a flattenedhemisphericalshape, and often with a capacity of about 100–250 millilitres (3–8 US fl oz).Cups may be made ofpottery(includingporcelain),glass,metal,wood,stone,polystyrene,plastic,lacquerware,or other materials. Normally, a cup is brought in contact with the mouth for drinking, distinguishing it from othertablewareanddrinkwareforms such asjugs.They also most typically havehandles,though abeakerhas no handle or stem, and small bowl shapes are very common in Asia.

Rocococup with saucer, circa 1753,soft-paste porcelainwithoverglaze enamelling,Vincennes porcelain

Cups of different styles may be used for different types of liquids or other foodstuffs (e.g. teacups and measuring cups), in different situations (e.g. at water stations or inceremoniesandrituals), or fordecoration.

Minoan potterycups 1800-1700 BC,Kamares ware

The history of cups goes back well intoprehistory,initially mostly as handle-less beakers or bowls, and they have been found in most cultures across the world in a variety of shapes and materials. While simple cups have been widely spread across societies, high-status cups in expensive materials have been very importantstatus symbolssince at least theBronze Age,and many found in burials.

Modern household shapes of cup generally lack a stem, but this was not always the case. The large metalstanding cuporcovered cupwith a base andstem,and usually a cover, was an important prestige piece in medieval houses that could afford them, and often used as a "welcome cup", or for toasts. The form survives in modernsporting trophies,and in thechalicesof church liturgy. The 15th-century silverLacock Cupis a rare English secular survival.These were the sort of cup offered bycup-bearers,historically often an important office in courts.

Definitions

The English word "cup" has meant a drinking vessel since at least 1000AD.The definition of a cup is fluid, and is likely to be wider in specialist areas such as archaeology than in modern common speech. As an example,Anna Wierzbicka(1984) notes that in the 1970s the "older generation" expected a cup to be made ofporcelainand have both a handle and a saucer, so that the plastic cup with neither a handle, nor a saucer, was not a "real cup", while the "younger generation" made no such distinction, and used "coffee cup"or"teacup"to indicate the traditional cups. Twelve-year-olds had two different shapes of a cup in mind, one for hot liquids, one for juices.

Names for different types of cups vary regionally and may overlap (inAmerican English"cups" include "mugs"). Anytransparentcup, regardless of actual composition, is more likely to be called a "glass";therefore, while a flat-bottomed cup made of paper is a" paper cup ", a transparent one of very similar shape, is likely to be called a"tumbler",or one of many terms for glasses, instead. Penelope Stock, alexicographer,stated that cups, mugs and glasses are "near-synonyms",although" sufficient differences "can be found that divide them into different groups.

Wierzbicka andKeith Allan(in his work "On Cup", 2020) compare definitions of the cup:

Cup definitions

Trait	William Labov	Jerrold J. Katz	OED	Cliff Goddard	Webster's 2nd ed.
Shape	Tapering, circular	Vertically oriented, "upwardlyconcave"	Hemispherical	Thin round sides, smooth top edge, flat bottom	Open, bowl-shaped
Proportions	Similar width and depth	Height close to the top diameter that is greater than the bottom one	Small	Not big, bottom narrower than top	Small
Function	Drinking hot liquids	Drinking	Drinking	Drinking hot liquids with one hand	"Chiefly" drinking, commonly used for hot liquids
Material	Opaque "vitreous"			Hard and smooth
Handle	One		Optional	One, in "many things"	Optional, one or more
Saucer	Present			Present	Common
Stem			Uncommon (usually found in thechalice)		Optional
Lid			Uncommon, not part of the "cup" itself		Optional

A mug and a cup side-by-side

Many languages − including French, Italian, Polish, Russian, German − use two separate words for mugs and cups. Wierzbicka suggests that this situation is due to a slightly different functionality: the traditional cups are designed for drinking while sitting down at the table, while the mug is supposed to be used anywhere. This, in her opinion, explains all the specific features:

• the saucer of the cup helps to protect the table surface, but is an inconvenience away from the table;
• the tapered shape of the cup accommodates the saucer, the cylindrical design of the mug is due to the absence of the saucer;
• larger handle of a mug allows carrying the mug around when putting it down is not an option;
• thicker walls of a mug allow cupping it with a second hand for convenience and reduce the chance of the mug being broken during long periods of handling;
• sitting at the table implies a more formal occasion, so cups are made to be more elegant, and sold in sets (like atea setor acoffee service). Mugs are informal and usually sold individually;
• mug holds more liquid than the cup, as the latter is used in a close proximity of ateapotanyhow. Since limiting the area of the exposed surface of the liquid helps keeping the temperature, this increase in volume is achieved through mug being taller, while tapered cups are lower for stability.

History

Imperial"Chicken Cup",used by theChenghua Emperor(d. 1487) and his consort for both tea and wine; some 3 inches across, these are now the most expensive cups in the world.

Cups have been used since theStone Ageand have been found at archeological sites throughout the world.A large number of the earliest cups are excavated from burials, and may have held offerings or supplies for the afterlife. Cups do not feature strongly in the earliest pottery found in most areas; the wares were thick and heavy, as were the carved stone vessels found in several early cultures. Probably cups in organic materials that have now decomposed, such as wood,bambooand driedgourdswere widely used. Large shells and birds' eggs have been used in some areas almost up to the present. Very simple single-usekulharcups in unglazedterracotta,and sometimes unfired clay, are still used inSouth Asia,now mainly at tea stalls, and are very similar to those found at sites of the Bronze AgeIndus Valley Civilization.

TheBell Beaker culture,is an importantarchaeological culturenamed after the distinctive inverted-bell potterybeakercups it used,marking the beginning of theEuropean Bronze Agefrom around 2800 BC. TheRinglemere Cupis a solid gold cup, with handle, from around 1600 BC, with theRillaton Gold Cupone of two such cups known from England, with a handful of other locations and materials (such as theHove amber cup) making up the "unstable" (round-bottomed) cups in precious materials from the Bronze Age.

Achaemenid Persian Lion Rhytonin gold,c. 500BC

Animal horns must often have been used as cups from very early on, and therhytonis a cup that imitates their shape, to a greater or lesser degree, in metal or pottery. It was the general elite type of cup throughout the Mediterranean in theIron Age,from Greece toAncient Persiaand beyond. Only some had feet or bases that allowed them to be rested on a flat surface. Large numbers were decorated with or as animal heads, or terminated in the figure of an animal.

Other than the rhyton, ancient Greek drinking cup shapes were mostly very wide and shallow bowls, usually on short stems and with two handles, generally oriented horizontally, along the same plane as the mouth of the cup, rather than at 90 degrees to it, as in modernteacups.Survivals inancient Greek potteryare numerous, and often brilliantly painted, but all probably were made also in silver, where survivals are extremely rare, as grave robbers did not bother with pottery.The most important shapes are thekylix,kantharos,skyphos,lip cup,and the breast-shapedmastoswith no base.

TheRoman Empireused cups throughout Europe, with "goblet" -type shapes with shortish stems, or none, preferred for luxury examples in silver,like theWarren Cup,orRoman glass,such as theLycurgus Cupin color-changing glass,or the spectacular carved-glasscage cups.By the 2nd century AD even the wealthy tended to prefer drinking from glass, as adding no taste to the drink.

Box with set of six flanged cups in lacquer,Western Han

An ancient shape of cup in various parts ofEurasiawas the "flanged cup" with either one or two flat horizontal strips attached to part of the top of the cup, acting as handles. These are found asgrave goodsin elite burials from around theWarring States Period(c. 475 to 221 BC), in Chineselacquerware(wood coated with resin from a tree) with two flanges at the sides of an ovoid cup. These are also called "eared cups" ( nhĩ bôi ) and "winged goblets".A form with a flange on only one side appears in ancient Persian silver, and then later inChinese porcelain,apparently gradually developing into a shape for brush-washers on the calligrapher's desk.

Most ancient types of cup from theAmericaswere pottery, but around the Gulf of Mexico, Native American societies used the shells of theHorse conchfor drinking cups, among other purposes.The tall, decorated and slightly waistedqiruor keru ofAndean civilizationsfirst appears in theEarly Intermediate Period(100-600 AD). They seem to have been high-status objects.Mayaelites drank from elaborately painted pottery beakers such as theFenton VaseandPrinceton Maya Vase with God L.

In what is now the south-eastern US, traces ofYaupon teacontainingcaffeinehave been found in pottery cups of an unusual shape: straight-sided, with a single thick spike as a handle near the top, opposite a slight pouring lip.

"unstable" palm cup inAnglo-Saxon glass

In theEarly Middle Agesglass remained in production in northern Europe, especially Germany, probably as a luxury material.Anglo-Saxon glasshad several types of cup, most shared with continental areas, including "palm cups" with no flat bottom,claw beakers,glass horns, and different types of beaker.

In the EuropeanMiddle Agesthe shapes of most ordinary cups were closer tomugs,tankards,andgobletsrather than modern cups, in wood, pottery, or sometimesboiled leather.But the elite preferred cups with stems, and often covers, in metal, with glass a less common alternative. Large "ceremonial" or feasting cups, sometimes calledgrace cupsor "welcome cups", anddrinking horns,includingivory,with metal mounts, were important prestige pieces, typically too large to drink from all evening, so passed around or drunk from once. The name for the very wide ancient Greek wine-cupkylixended up via Latin aschalice,typically a handle-less goblet in metal, used in theCatholic mass,but also a secular shape. Many individual examples have served both secular and liturgical uses over their history.

Chinese export porcelaintea cup and saucer in the Western style with handle; 1745; diameter: 10.2 cm. The deep saucer is typical of the period

By the end of the Middle Agesglasswas becoming a much cheaper material, and over theEarly Modern Periodit replaced pottery and other materials as the norm for cups intended for cold drinks, especially wine and beer. The "wine cup" that had been a major prestige category sinceclassical antiquitywas largely replaced by thewineglass,andcups for beerwent the same way. TheOEDrecords the first dated use in English of "glass" as a term for a vessel, rather than just the material, in 1393-4.A new wave of hot drinks came to dominate the range of cups.

Chinese and Japanese cups have been shaped as small, rather wide, bowls for some 2,000 years, smaller versions of the shape used for eating and serving food. As well as theChinese porcelainthat very gradually overtook it,lacqueris a prestige material. The same shapes are typically used in East Asia for both tea and wine orsake,and when they appeared in Europe in the 16th century, this shape was initially used for locally-made cups for the new drinks ofteaandcoffee.

By the early 18th century, the European taste for handles on cups, strongly evident from antiquity, reasserted itself and a single vertical handle was added to a slightly more upright Chinese-style bowl to create both the very similar forms of the Westernteacupandcoffee cup,as well as asaucer.This was initially rather deeper than modern saucers, as it was considered usual to pour the hot liquid into the saucer to cool it slightly before drinking. Apart from a more shallow saucer the essential elements of these two forms in many contemporary examples have changed little since the mid-18th century. European porcelain manufacturers encouraged the development of different sizes of cup, and shapes of pot, for tea and coffee services.

The 20th century brought theplastic cup,in both disposable and permanent washable forms, and thepaper cup,normally disposable. Materials such as processedbamboohave also come into use.

• 
  TheRillaton gold cup,Cornwall,perhaps c. 1700 BC.British Museum
• 
  Ancient Egyptianlotiform cup;1295-1185 BC; faience; height: 15 cm, diameter: 9.1 cm
• 
  Greekblack-figuremastos,ca. 530 BC, with combat scenes, a form of "unstable cup" named and modelled after a female breast
• 
  Ancient Greekkylix;575-550 BC;black-figure;diameter: 26.8 cm, overall: 14.1 cm
• 
  Claw beakerinAnglo-Saxon glassfrom theRinglemere barrow,c. 400 to 600 AD
• 
  TheMayaFenton Vase,600-800 AD
• 
  "Falcon warrior" shell cup, from theSpiro Mounds,easternOklahoma,1200-1500
• 
  Silver beaker, possibly Norwegian, second half of the 17th century, silver, overall: 9.2 × 8.3 cm
• 
  Sèvrescabinet cupand saucer, decorated withGothic Revivalornament; 1827; porcelain; overall: 8.2 x 10 cm
• 
  Oldkulharand newpaper cupsat a "tea stand" inKolkata,India in 2015

Cultural significance and use

TheRoyal Gold Cup,before 1391,23.6 cmhigh,17.8 cmacross at its widest point; weight 1.935 kg,British Museum.Saint Agnesappears to her friends in a vision.

Since cups have been an integral part ofdiningsince time immemorial, they have become a valued part of human culture. Cups are used across a wide range of cultures andsocial classes.

Court culture

Historically,monarchshave been concerned about assassination via poisoning. To avoid this fate, they often used dedicated cups, withcup-bearersto guard them. A "divining cup" was supposed to be able to detect poison. In theBible,Josephinterpreted a dream forPharaoh'scup-bearer,and a silver divining cup played a key role in his reconciliation withhis brothers.

TheRoyal Gold Cupis an exceptionally rare survival, made before 1391 forJohn, Duke of Berry,a French prince, who gave it to his uncle,Charles VI of France.It is in gold, decorated with jewels and scenes in enamel, with a cover and aboiled leathercarrying case. It once had a triangular stand which has been lost. It weighs 1.935 kilos, so was perhaps used ceremonially rather than throughout meals.

Religion

A two-handled Natla (נַטְלָה) cup used forritual washing in Judaism

Practices in many religions around the world, including the Ancient Greek and Roman religions includedlibations,the pouring of a small amount of liquid onto an altar, image or just onto the ground. Some shapes of cup, such as the wide and shallow Greekphiale(Romanpatera,more a dish than a cup) seem mainly to have been used for this, while others were used for both this and drinking. Therhyton,especially the types with a hole in the bottom, was one of many cup shapes used for libations. Libations were common at the start of informal social occasions involving drinking, where the normal cups were presumably often used.

The most traditionalChinese ritual bronzevessel for libations, thejue,has a large pouring lip, and may be regarded as a type of jug rather than a cup.

In theChristianritual ofCommunion,adherents drink from a cup ofwine(or a wine substitute) to commemorate theLast SupperofJesus.Achaliceis often used for this purpose. Chalices are usually handleless metal cups on stems; originally such shapes were standard secular elite drinking cups, and many examples such as theRoyal Gold Cuphave been used for both religious and secular purposes over their history.

Cuisine

Theword "cup"is also used as a unit of capacity: the capacity of a "typical" cup, varying slightly from place to place; it is mostly used in recipes. Themeasuring cup,an adaptation of a simple cup, is a standard tool in cooking that has been in use at least as far back asRoman times.

Apart from serving as drinking vessels, cups can be used as an alternative tobowlsas a receptacle, especially, forsoup.Recipes have been published for cooking various dishes in cups in the microwave.Although mainly used for drinking, cups can also be used to storesolidsfor pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt).

Medicine

Cupping therapyuses heated cups applied to the body to raise the skin, for which a variety of health benefits are claimed. In the Western world, this is regarded asalternative medicine.Antimonial cupswere made ofantimony.If wine was kept in them for some hours, and then drunk, there was an emetic orlaxativeeffect.

Spa cupsare special cups that are used to drink mineral or thermal water directly from a spring, developed in north-west Bohemia during the 17th centuryand are now part ofCzech folklore.

Heraldry

Chalices are sometimes used in heraldry, especiallyecclesiastical heraldry.AKronkåsais a type of elaborate wooden cup which was used by theSwedish nobilityduring theRenaissance.

Child development

Drinking from a cup is a significant step on a baby's path to becoming atoddler;it is recommended that children switch frombottlesto cups between six months and one year of age.Sippy cupsare typically used for this transition. Like other cups for children, these are normally plastic cups. Special cups for infants seem to date back to theNeolithic,some shaped like animals, apparently just to engage the child.

Sports

Many trophies take the form of a cup. In sports, competitions themselves often take on the name of the cup-shaped trophy awarded.

Manytrophiestake the form of a decorated cup, generally in metal. In cases such as theFIFA World Cupand theStanley Cup,the competition itself may grow to take on the name of the trophy that is awarded to the winner. Owing to the common usage of cup-shaped trophies as prizes for the winners, a large number of national and international competitions are called "cups".

For large examples, the two-handled form based on the ancientkantharosis very often used. The size of many means that "vase"would be a more appropriate name, but" cup "has become established. Early trophies, mostly forhorse-racing,were generally more simplegobletshapes.

Games

InTarotdivination, thesuit of cupsis associated with theelement of waterand is regarded as symbolizing emotion, intuition, and the soul.Cards that feature cups are often associated with love, relationships, fears, and desires.

Various cups have been designed so that drinking out of them without spilling is a challenge. These are calledpuzzle cups.

• Pythagorean cup
• Fuddling cup
• Puzzle jug

Thecup gameinvolves rhythmically striking plastic cups.

Promotion

In the developed world, cups are often distributed forpromotional purposes.For example, a corporation might distribute cups with their logo at a trade show, or a city might hand out cups with slogans promoting recycling. There are companies that provide the service of printing slogans on cups.

For hot beverages

Teacups onsaucers,Japanese export porcelain,19th century

While in theory, most cups are well suited to hold drinkable liquids, hot drinks liketeaare generally served in either insulated cups or porcelainteacups.

• Coffee cup
• Mazagran
• Mug
• Teacup
• Thermos
• Travel mug
• Moustache cup

Metal and glass cups can use a double wall construction with avacuum-sealed space in-betweento reduce the loss of heat and keep outside surfaces cooler.

Disposable

Assorted plastic cups, commonly used for informal dining.

Disposable cupsare intended to be used only once.They are often used by fast-food restaurants and coffee shops to serve beverages. Institutions that provide drinking water, such as offices and hospitals, may also use disposable cups for sanitary reasons.

• Paper cup
• Plastic cup
• Glass cup
• Foam cup

For alcoholic beverages

Some styles of cups are used primarily for alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, cocktail, and liquor. There are over a dozen distinct styles of cups for drinkingbeer,depending on the precise variety of beer. The idea that a certain beer should be served in a cup of a certain shape may have been promulgated more formarketingpurposes, but there very well may be some basis in fact behind it.Wine glassesalso come in different shapes, depending on the color and style of wine that is intended to be served in them.

• Beer stein
• Pint glass
• Old Fashioned glass
• Quaich
• Sake cup(ochoko)
• Shot glass
• Tankard
• Wine glass
• Goblet

For measurement, suction and breasts

• Measuring cup
• Suction cup
• Bra cup

Gallery

• 
  MinoanKamares ware; 1800-1700 BC; fromPhaistos(Crete);Archaeological Museum of Heraklion(Heraklion,Crete, Greece)
• 
  Hittitedrinking cup in the shape of a fist; 1400-1380 BC; silver; from Central Turkey;Museum of Fine Arts(Boston,USA)
• 
  Romantwo-handled glazed cup; 1st century BC-4th Century AD; glazed terracotta;Erimtan Archaeology and Arts Museum(Ankara,Turkey)
• 
  Rectangular wine cup (Zun) with a dragon; 1700s; grayish-white jade; overall: 14 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art
• 
  Neoclassicalcoffee cup with saucer; circa 1790; jasper ware with relief decoration; diameter: 13.6 cm; by theWedgwoodFactory (England); Cleveland Museum of Art
• 
  French cup and saucer, decorated withRenaissanceornaments; 1880–1900; enamel and silver; overall: 6.5 x 8.5 x 6.5 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art
• 
  Art Nouveaucup; designed by Adolf Flad; 1902; porcelain;Bröhan Museum(Berlin, Germany)

Sources

• Allan, Keith(2020)."On Cups".Dynamics of Language Changes.Singapore: Springer Singapore. pp. 125–137.doi:10.1007/978-981-15-6430-7_8.ISBN978-981-15-6429-1.
• Burn, Lucilla,The British Museum Book of Greek and Roman Art,1991, British Museum Press,ISBN0714112976
• Hillier, Bevis,Pottery and Porcelain 1700-1914: England, Europe and North America(seriesThe Social History of the Decorative Arts), 1968, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 0297176684
• Kronenfeld, D. (1996).Plastic Glasses and Church Fathers: Semantic Extension From the Ethnoscience Tradition.Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics. Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-535749-3.RetrievedOctober 29,2024.
• Rigby, Stephen Henry (2003).A Companion to Britain in the Later Middle Ages(Illustrated ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.ISBN978-0-631-21785-5.
• Stock, Penelope F (January 24, 2008)."Polysemy"(PDF).Practical Lexicography.Oxford University Press.pp. 153–160.doi:10.1093/oso/9780199292332.003.0010.ISBN978-0-19-929233-2.
• Wierzbicka, Anna(1984)."Cups and mugs: Lexicography and conceptual analysis".Australian Journal of Linguistics.4(2). Informa UK Limited: 205–255.doi:10.1080/07268608408599326.ISSN0726-8602.

External links

• Media related toCupsat Wikimedia Commons