Goblet ('The Luck of Edenhall')

Syrian

V&A (Victoria & Albert Museum)

circa 1355

Called 'Luck of Edenhall', this yellowish glass beaker, brilliantly enamelled in red, blue, green and gilt, was first mentioned in 1729 in a ballad referring to a drinking match organized at Eden Hall in 1721. It also featured in Gentleman's Magazine in 1791, in an article written by W.M. - almost certainly Sir William Musgrave of Edenhall- and was equally celebrated in a ballad by Johan Ludwig Uhland. It was probably made in Aleppo, Syria, in the mid-fourteenth century and possibly brought back from the crusades. Its case of leatherwork is probably from the Narbonne region and may justify its perfect condition. A sacred monogram on the case suggests that the glass may have only served as a chalice. This is evidence that the 'Luck' was in the possession of the Musgrave family at a very early date; it unquestionably possesses one of the longest pedigrees of any glass object in an English collection.

• Medium: glass painted in enamel colours & gilt
• Dimensions: 15.8 x 11.1cm
• Art Fund Grant: £1500 ( Total: £5,500)
• ArtFunded in: 1958
• Vendor: Sir Nigel Courtney Musgrave

Provenance

Musgrave family, Eden Hall, near Penrith. On loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum from Sir Nigel Courtenay Musgrave from 1926 to its acquisition.

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