A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold
liquids for pouring or
drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store
solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of
glass
Glass is a non- crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenchin ...
,
metal
A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...
,
china
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
,
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...
,
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
,
stone,
polystyrene
Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the Aromatic hydrocarbon, aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin pe ...
,
plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adapta ...
,
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...
or other materials, and are usually fixed with a
stem
Stem or STEM may refer to:
Plant structures
* Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang
* Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure
* Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
,
handles, or other
adornments. Cups are used for quenching thirst across a wide range of cultures and
social class
A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, inc ...
es, and different styles of cups may be used for different liquids or in different situations.
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 in
ceremonies
A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion.
The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''.
Church and civil (secula ...
and
rituals
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...
), or for
decoration
Decoration may refer to:
* Decorative arts
* A house painter and decorator's craft
* An act or object intended to increase the beauty of a person, room, etc.
* An award that is a token of recognition to the recipient intended for wearing
Othe ...
.
[ Rigby 2003: p. 573–574.]
History
Cups are an improvement on using cupped hands or feet to hold liquids. They have almost certainly been used since before recorded history, and have been found at archaeological sites throughout the world. Prehistoric cups were sometimes fashioned from shells and hollowed out stones.
In ancient
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
, cups were made for a variety of purposes, possibly including the transportation and drinking of
alcoholic beverages.
There is evidence that the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
may have spread the use of cups throughout Europe, with notable examples including silver cups in Wales and a
color-changing glass cup in ancient
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
.
In
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, cups have been discovered which date back to several thousand years, including the
Rillaton Gold Cup
Rillaton ( kw, Reslegh) is a hamlet in the parish of Linkinhorne in Cornwall, England. Nearby is the Bronze Age round barrow where the Rillaton Gold Cup was found in 1837.
Rillaton was the head manor of the hundred of East WivelshireThorn, Caro ...
, about 3,700 years old. Cups were used in the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
several centuries prior to the European arrivals.
Around the Gulf of Mexico, Native American societies used the
Horse conch for drinking cups, among other purposes.
Lotiform Cup MET DP112599.jpg, Ancient Egyptian lotiform cup; 1295-1185 BC; faience; height: 15 cm, diameter: 9.1 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
(New York City)
China, Chinese Export, 18th century, Period of Kien Lung - Cup and Saucer - 1955.177 - Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg, Chinese cup and saucer; 1745; porcelain; diameter: 10.2 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...
, Ohio
Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
, USA)
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory - Cup and Saucer - 1998.412 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, Sèvres cup and saucer, decorated with Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
Revival ornaments and patterns; 1827; porcelain; overall: 8.2 x 10 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art
Mocha cup, designed by Adolf Flad, made by KPM Berlin, 1902, porcelain, 5 of 6 - Bröhan Museum, Berlin - DSC04098.JPG, Art Nouveau cup; designed by Adolf Flad; 1902; porcelain; Bröhan Museum (Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
, Germany)
Cultural significance and use
Since cups have been an integral part of
dining since time immemorial, they have become a valued part of human culture. The shape or image of a cup appears in various places in human cultures.
Monarchy
Historically,
monarchs have been concerned about assassination via poisoning. To avoid this fate, they often used dedicated cups, with
cup-bearers to guard them. A "divining cup" was supposed to be able to detect poison. In the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
,
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...
interpreted a dream for
Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...
's
cup-bearer, and a silver divining cup played a key role in his reconciliation with
his brothers.
Spa cups are special cups that are used to drink mineral or thermal water directly from a spring, developed in north-west Bohemia during the 17th century and are now part of
Czech folklore.
Religion
In the
Christian ritual of
Communion, adherents drink from a cup of
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...
(or a wine substitute) to commemorate the
Last Supper of
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
. A
chalice is often used for this purpose.
Ancient Greek religious practices included
libations. The
rhyton
A rhyton (plural rhytons or, following the Greek plural, rhyta) is a roughly conical container from which fluids were intended to be drunk or to be poured in some ceremony such as libation, or merely at table. A rhyton is typically formed in t ...
was one cup used for libations.
Cuisine
The
measuring cup
A measuring cup is a kitchen utensil used primarily to measure the volume of liquid or bulk solid cooking ingredients such as flour and sugar, especially for volumes from about 50 mL (2 fl oz) upwards. Measuring cups are also used ...
, an adaptation of a simple cup, is a standard tool in cooking that has been in use at least as far back as
Roman times. Apart from serving as drinking vessels, cups can be used as an alternative to
bowls as a receptacle, especially, for
soup
Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling soli ...
. Recipes have been published for cooking various dishes in cups in the microwave.
Heraldry
Chalices are sometimes used in heraldry, especially
ecclesiastical heraldry. A
Kronkåsa
A kronkåsa ( sv, crown cup, plural ''kronkåsor'') is a form of elaborate drinking cup that was used during the Renaissance in Sweden.
Description
A kronkåsa is a drinking vessel where the handles are exaggeratedly long and elaborate, thus formi ...
is a type of elaborate wooden cup which was used by the
Swedish nobility during the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
.
Child development
Drinking from a cup is a significant step on a baby's path to becoming a
toddler; it is recommended that children switch from
bottle
A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal s ...
s to cups between six months and one year of age.
Sippy cup
The sippy cup, training cup (American English) or beaker (British English) is a modern drinking cup designed for toddlers which prevents or reduces spills. Sippy cups, as opposed to an open cup, have a top which prevents spills, and the child d ...
s are typically used for this transition.
Sports
Many
trophies take the form of a decorated cup. In cases such as the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
and the
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
, 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".
Games
In
Tarot
The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots ...
divination, the
suit of cups is associated with the
element of water and 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 called puzzle cups.
* Pythagorean cup
* Fuddling cup
* ]Puzzle jug
A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct or fun solution of the puzzl ...
The cup game involves rhythmically striking plastic cups.
Promotion
In the developed world, cups are often distributed for promotional 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.
Types
Names for different types of cups vary regionally and may overlap. Any transparent cup, regardless of actual composition, is called a "glass
Glass is a non- crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenchin ...
"; therefore, while a cup made of paper is a "paper cup", a transparent one for drinking shots is called a "shot glass", instead.
For hot beverages
While in theory, most cups are well suited to hold drinkable liquids, hot drinks like tea are generally served in either insulated cups or porcelain teacups.
* Coffee cup
* Mazagran
* Mug
* Teacup
* Thermos
* Travel mug
A mug is a type of cup typically used for drinking hot drinks, such as coffee, hot chocolate, or tea. Mugs usually have handles and hold a larger amount of fluid than other types of cup. Typically, a mug holds approximately of liquid. A mug ...
* Moustache cup
The moustache cup (or mustache cup) is a drinking cup with a Semicircle, semicircular ledge inside. The ledge, called a moustache guard, has a half moon-shaped opening to allow the passage of liquids and serves as a guard to keep moustaches dry. ...
Disposable
Disposable cups are 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
upTypical drinkware
The list of glassware includes drinking vessels (drinkware) and tableware used to set a table for eating a meal, general glass items such as vases, and glasses used in the catering industry. It does not include laboratory glass ...
* 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 drinking beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
, 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 for marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
purposes, but there very well may be some basis in fact behind it. Wine glasses also 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[McClenehan, Robert L. ''Some Scottish Quaichs''. Illinois, 1955, p. 3.]
* Sake cup (''ochoko'')
* Shot glass
* Tankard
* Wine glass
* Goblet
For measurement, suction and breasts
*Measuring cup
A measuring cup is a kitchen utensil used primarily to measure the volume of liquid or bulk solid cooking ingredients such as flour and sugar, especially for volumes from about 50 mL (2 fl oz) upwards. Measuring cups are also used ...
* Suction cup
* Bra cup
Bra size (also known as brassiere measurement or bust size) indicates the size characteristics of a bra. While there are a number of bra sizing systems in use around the world, the bra sizes usually consist of a number, indicating the size of the ...
Gallery
Cup with Kamares ware motif, Phaistos, 1800-1700 BC, AMH, 144926.jpg, Minoan Kamares ware; 1800-1700 BC; from Phaistos
Phaistos ( el, Φαιστός, ; Ancient Greek: , , Minoan: PA-I-TO?http://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/download/11991/4031&ved=2ahUKEwjor62y3bHoAhUEqYsKHZaZArAQFjASegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw1MwIv3ekgX-SxkJrbORipd ), also transliterated as Phaesto ...
(Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
); Archaeological Museum of Heraklion
The Heraklion Archaeological Museum is a museum located in Heraklion on Crete. It is one of the greatest museums in Greece and the best in the world for Minoan art, as it contains by far the most important and complete collection of artefacts o ...
(Heraklion
Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Gree ...
, Crete, Greece)
Drinking cup in the shape of a fist, MFA, Boston (11244059164).jpg, Hittite drinking cup in the shape of a fist; 1400-1380 BC; silver; from Central Turkey; Museum of Fine Arts (Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, USA)
Greece, 6th Century BC - Siana Cup - 1965.78 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, Greek kylix; 575-550 BC; black-figure terracotta; diameter: 26.8 cm, overall: 14.1 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...
, Ohio
Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
, USA)
Ankara Archaeology and art museum Skyphos Glazed terracotta 2019 3435.jpg, Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
two-handled glazed cup; 1st century BC-4th Century AD; glazed terracotta; Erimtan Archaeology and Arts Museum
Erimtan Archaeology and Arts Museum ( tr, Erimtan Arkeoloji ve Sanat Müzesi) is an archaeology museum and music venue in Ankara, Turkey.
Location
The museum is located at Gözcü St. 10 in Kale neighborhood of Altındağ ilçe (district) in An ...
(Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
, Turkey)
China, Qing dynasty - Rectangular Wine Cup (Zun) with Dragon - 1952.500 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, Rectangular wine cup (Zun) with a dragon; 1700s; grayish-white jade; overall: 14 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art
Wedgwood Factory - Cup and Saucer - 1951.305 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, Neoclassical coffee cup with saucer; circa 1790; jasper ware with relief decoration; diameter: 13.6 cm; by the Wedgwood
Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...
Factory (England); Cleveland Museum of Art
France, 19th century - Cup and Saucer - 2009.366 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, French cup and saucer, decorated with Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
ornaments; 1880–1900; enamel and silver; overall: 6.5 x 8.5 x 6.5 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art
Mocha cup, designed by Adolf Flad, made by KPM Berlin, 1902, porcelain, 1 of 6 - Bröhan Museum, Berlin - DSC04094.JPG, Art Nouveau cup; designed by Adolf Flad; 1902; porcelain; Bröhan Museum (Berlin, Germany)
References
*
External links
* {{Commons category-inline, Cups
Gallery of cups in The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Drinkware
Teaware
Containers
Pottery