Nuremberg Silver Wedding Cup

This silver cup was used for the blessing over wine pronounced beneath the nuptial canopy (huppah) during the marriage ceremony, a central step of the rite; in Ashkenazi usage, the glass broken at the end of the ritual is sometimes distinct from this blessing cup. A family or community object, it could be reused from one wedding to another. In Nuremberg, a former major center of metalwork in Central Europe, these silver cups are engraved with burin motifs and occasional inscriptions—sometimes the names of the bride and groom and the date. They exemplify the excellence of South German silversmithing devoted to Jewish wedding objects.