Lacock Cup

Lacock Cup

250px Lacock Cup as displayed in the British Museum
Material	Silver
Size	33cm high
Created	Mid-Fifteenth Century
Present location	British Museum, London

The Lacock Cup is a medieval silver chalice, originally housed in St Cyriac's Church in Lacock, Wiltshire, England

History

Dating from the mid-15th century, the drinking cup has been described as "one of the most significant pieces of secular English medieval silver". Most examples of these feasting cups were destroyed or changed due to fashion. However, as it was almost immediately donated to the church after creation, it enabled the Lacock Cup to survive in good original condition, making it today rare. The cup's function changed after the English Reformation, as new religious practices meant that a larger communion cup was required to hold sufficient wine for the whole congregation, in a time when strict laws prohibited the use of religious images. Since 1962, it has been on display at the British Museum.

Sale

In 2009, with mounting expenditure on maintaining and restoring the church's structure, the Lacock Parochial Church Council (LPCC) had the cup valued, with experts estimating the value at £1.8M. The LPCC then applied for a faculty (licence) to sell the Cup, with the British Museum interested in changing the loan into a purchase agreement. Local resident Geoffrey Fox legally challenged the sale, but at a Consistory court in December 2013, the Reverend Justin Gau said he was satisfied the sale circumstances were justified.

Joint purchase

External video
The Lacock Cup at the British Museum, TheArtFundUK

On 24 December 2013, sale was completed to a joint bid from the British Museum and the Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, for a sum of £1.3m, raised through private donation as well as grant funds from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and The Art Fund. As part of the sale agreement, two replicas will be made: one for liturgical use at the church; one to go on display at the Wiltshire Museum, when the original is not on display.