Standing cup with cover

The unique feature of this serpentine cup, impressive in its size, is the thirty-five various coins covering its base, bowl and lid. Most of them were made after antique originals (from the era of the Roman Empire), or are so-called fictitious coins of the Renaissance. Further interesting things to note about this goldsmith work, richly decorated with palmettos (stylised palm leaves) and acanthus tendrils are the two enamelled French inscriptions on its stem and the horizontal band of the bowl: “NVLLE PLVS” and “NE MOY AVLTRE”. These are the mottoes of Anthoine de Lalaing (1480–1540), Count of Hoogstraten (now Belgium) and his wife, Elisabeth de Coulembourg (1475–1555).
Several theories were made about the origins of this ornamental cup. According to an early idea based on the inscription of a coin, it was made in 1490 as a gift for King Matthias Corvinus. At the major goldsmith exhibition of the Museum of Applied Arts held in 1884, the work was presented as a 16th century article. Not only the date, but also the place of its manufacture is uncertain. France, Switzerland, Strasbourg, Nuremberg, and now – based on inscriptions – The Netherlands have all been considered as the place of execution of the artefact. Its precise identification requires further research.