Columbine cup

They were produced in Nuremberg, Germany, in the sixteenth century, often as masterpieces to demonstrate that a craftsman had the skills necessary to enter a craft guild.

[1] Columbine cups were first produced in Nuremberg in the sixteenth century, often as masterpieces to demonstrate the skills required to enter a craft guild.

[2] They are first mentioned in 1513[3] and from 1531 to 1572 were the most important of three items that apprentices were required to submit to the guild in order to move up from journeyman to master status.

[4] One of the most influential designs for a Columbine Cup was produced in Georg Wechter's 1579 pattern book 30 Stück zum verzachnen für die Goldschmied verfertigt Geörg Wechter 15 Maller 79 Nürnberg (Nuremberg, 1579; e.g. Berlin, Kupferstichkab.

[5][6] Two columbine cups are in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, one formerly owned by the Nuremberg Goldsmiths Corporation and thought to be from the workshop of Wenzel Jamnitzer,[4] and one by an unknown maker.