Dram Cup
ca.1700
Medium
Silver
Dimensions
Overall: 1 3/4 x 5 3/8 in. (4.4 x 13.7 cm); 2 oz. 12 dwt. (81 g) Lip: Diam. 3 13/16 in. (9.7 cm) Base: Diam. 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm)
Classification
Cup
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Alphonso T. Clearwater, 1933
Accession Number
33.120.219
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of colonial America with Benjamin Wynkoop's *Dram Cup*, a delicate silver vessel crafted around 1700. This petite masterpiece, standing just 1 3/4 inches tall with a 3 13/16-inch lip diameter, was designed for measuring "drams"—small units of spirits like rum or whiskey, a nod to the era's vibrant tavern culture and social rituals. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, it exemplifies early American silversmithing from New York, where Wynkoop, a skilled artisan of Dutch descent, produced luxury goods for the elite. Silver was a prized medium in t...