Caudle cup

Date1682

MediumTin-glazed earthenware (delft)

DimensionsH: 3 5/8"; D+ handle: 6 3/8"; D(body): 4 7/8"; Footring: 3"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1956-529

DescriptionRound bodied cup with slightly flared lip, loop handle, and small foot ring. White tin glaze decorated in polychrome with a horned man holding a wine glass and with the inscription "I F M COOK COE 1682 O I WAS BORN TO WARE THE HORN."
Label TextThe face of this vessel is ornamented with an image of a horned man (a reference to the cuckolded husband) and the inscription "I F M / COOK COE 1682 / O I WAS BORN TO WARE THE HORN." The context of this image and inscription is unknown. An early published suggestion was that the mug was intended to be presented to a man who was being cuckolded by his wife. Yet if that were the case, why were the initials of a married couple incorporated in the decoration? When this mug was presented at an English Ceramic Circle meeting in 1933, it was suggested that the motif could be related to an early custom in many English inns, according to which an oath was taken on a set of horns. As of 1626, various types of horns were used, including those of stags, bullocks, and rams: "Travellers going north were stopped and sworn, the terms of the oath, including a promise 'not to eat brown bread when you can get white, except you like the brown the best; not to drink small beer while you can get strong, except you like the small the best; not to kiss the maid while you can kiss the mistress, except you like the maid the best: and so forth."

Caudle, a drink made with gruel, wine or ale, spices, and a sweetener, was often given to the sick in vessels of this shape.
Inscribed"I F M COOK COE 1682 / 0 I WAS BORN TO WARE THE HORN."
MarkingsNo
ProvenanceG. E. Howard
Tilley & Co., London