ABSTRACT
The 14th-century Cup is known to have been in King's Lynn since 1548. In that year, it was delivered to the Mayor and described as 'King John's Cup with a cover and enamelled weighing 70 ozs and 1/4'. There are thirty-one enamel panels in all which are made from separate plates of silver individually fitted against the body of the cup and retained by band settings. The Cup is first mentioned in the Hall Book of King's Lynn in 1548 as the first item in a list of plate delivered to the Mayor. The Mayor of King's Lynn used the Cup by 1653, if not before, for celebratory drinking known as 'the courtesy of King John's cup'. The King's Lynn Cup is an excellent example of one of the largest and most important shapes of medieval drinking vessels. The costume of the figures on the Cup shows the changes to the effect of tailoring on dress in the 14th century.
