Chalice
Physical Object
1986.008.0008
Nuestra Señora de Atocha (1622)
circa 1600
A gold chalice recovered from the wreck of the galleon Atocha is popularly known as a “poison cup,” but it is a type of drinking vessel known more formally as a bernegal. The circular form has a wide border below the rim that is chased with stylized, scrolling vines interspersed by a dolphin, a dragon, a lion, a rabbit, a phoenix, and a raven. Below the border are twenty-four vertical lobes, each chased with floral decoration. The cup sits on a similarly chased, molded spool foot. Two S-form, stylized dolphin handles face each other from opposing sides of the cup. Around the interior, just below the rim, are the remains of twenty settings for gemstones (likely emeralds). The bottom of the interior is set with an ovoid, open-frame mount. The piece is of South American manufacture, evidenced by the multiple tax stamps indicating the proper export levies had been paid before the transatlantic voyage.
The vessel is a “poison cup” because it once held in its central interior mount a bezoar stone intended to absorb poison from drink. In the seventeenth century, poison offered a way to eliminate rivals with very low risk of detection. Bezoars are the gallstones of calcium and hair found in the alimentary tracts of ruminants such as deer, sheep, llamas and antelope. In seventeenth century thinking, bezoars were an antidote to poison, and modern science suggests that they were somewhat effective against arsenic. Bezoars were quite valuable, and additional, unmounted stones (likely from South American llamas or alpacas) were found on Atocha.
The vessel is a “poison cup” because it once held in its central interior mount a bezoar stone intended to absorb poison from drink. In the seventeenth century, poison offered a way to eliminate rivals with very low risk of detection. Bezoars are the gallstones of calcium and hair found in the alimentary tracts of ruminants such as deer, sheep, llamas and antelope. In seventeenth century thinking, bezoars were an antidote to poison, and modern science suggests that they were somewhat effective against arsenic. Bezoars were quite valuable, and additional, unmounted stones (likely from South American llamas or alpacas) were found on Atocha.