"Thomas cup" from the Berlin city hall

**Silver puzzle cup from 1690** The foot of the funnel-shaped vessel is formed by an eagle (Cölln) and a bear (Berlin) standing upright, which embrace and kiss each other deeply. The initials "R V C F" and "1690" are entwined under the foot. The initials probably refer to the councils of Berlin, Cölln, Friedrichswerder, which existed in 1690 as an urban community and held joint deliberations on St. Thomas's Day, December 21. The rim of the vessel is of openwork design, so that the contents can only be drunk if the rim is put very deep into the mouth. In the outermost rim there are three small openings, which are connected to the cavity of the vessel wall, such as the eagle and the bear; if you tilt the vessel while trying to drink, the contents of the wall cavity will flow out of these holes. See the object in our database: https://sammlung-online.stadtmuseum.de/Details/Index/355237 **CC-BY-Attribution: Stadtmuseum Berlin | Oliver Ziebe**