These two cups were made for Wilhelm Honstein, Bishop of Strasbourg, Count of Alsace, and advisor to Emperor Charles V. A medal with Honstein’s portrait and coat of arms is set into the cover and base. Their design, their conspicuous inclusion of ancient coins, and the portrait medal, make them quintessentially ‘Renaissance’. Collecting ancient coins was important for 16th-century scholars. Each cup contains 45 coins, a mixture of genuine ancient Roman coins and 16th-century pastiches.
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