Hamburg and Archaeology: Stoneware Cup

Christian motives were very popular with potters of the Rhineland in the 16th century. This stoneware cup, found in Hamburg’s Old Town, shows Adam and Eve under the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. It depicts the moment shortly before their expulsion from Paradise. In the Modern Age, Rhenish stoneware was a popular article of exportation and reached Hamburg mainly by boat, via the River Rhine, the North Sea, and the River Elbe.