Communion cup

George Craufurd

Museum of Edinburgh

1621

Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline (1555-1622), gifted four communion cups to Inveresk Parish Kirk, this being the only one to bear his coat of arms. Many communion cups were made in Scotland at this time, varying considerably in shape and size according to the wealth and number of communicants in each parish. The Inveresk communion, cup is of the tazza form, with a vase-shaped stem. This shape is possibly a prototype for a still heavier cup which became popular in the wealthy parishes of the Scottish Lowlands towards the middle of the 17th century. One of the clearest witnesses to the skills of Scottish goldsmiths is the corpus of work represented by such church plate and the Inveresk communion cup is among the finest surviving examples from the 17th century.

• Medium: silver
• Dimensions: 22 cm
• Art Fund Grant: £4000 ( Total: £22,000)
• ArtFunded in: 1999
• Vendor: Inveresk Parish Kirk

Provenance

The cup was one of four commissioned for the Church and presented as a gift by Alexander Seton in 1621.

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