Communal Drinking Cup or Mether

3D Model

Material: Wood. Accession number: HCM 223. Current Location: The Hunt Museum, Limerick..

A mether carved from a single piece of wood, with incised bands and geometric, chevron-like decoration. It has four handles with deep lobes and an internal base. Extensions form supports for balance. The mouth is sub-rectangular. The body tapers gently into a sub-square. The mouth edge at the corners is worn and chipped. Three handled methers are communal Medieval drinking or storage vessels. Larger vessels contained bog butter and buried in bogs. Four handled methers are a feature of the Gaelic revival.

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