Communal Drinking Cup or Mether

Description

Material: Wood. Accession number: HCM 223. Current Location: [The Hunt Museum,](https://www.huntmuseum.com/) [Limerick.](https://www.geonames.org/7778675/limerick-city.html). A [mether](http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300427485) carved from a single piece of wood, with [incised](http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300053847) bands and geometric, chevron-like decoration. It has four handles with deep lobes and an internal base. Extensions form supports for balance. The mouth is sub-rectangular. The body tapers gently into a sub-square. The mouth edge at the corners is worn and chipped. Three handled methers are communal Medieval drinking or storage vessels. Larger vessels contained bog butter and buried in [bogs](http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300008901). Four handled methers are a feature of the Gaelic revival. [More](https://www.huntmuseum.com/explore/item/20285ecc-6065-3b75-94be-fab5fa44af0f/?s%3Dmether&pos=3).