71. Coupe de mariage par Christoff Ritter II, en argent et vermeil, Allemagne, vers 1600 A German silver and silver-gilt figural (Jungferfn) wager cup, Christoff Ritter II, Nuremberg, circa 1600 Modelled as a female figure, wearing a bonnet, arms aloft, the swivel bowl and flared skirt with armorial style engraved cartouches, embellished with leafy scrolls, flowers, songbirds and each surmounted with a coronet, the lacy bodice and the panelled borders with prick-dot scrolls are gilded, interior of cups gilded, height 18cm, weight 199gms. Provenance: Private German Collection This type of marriage or wager cup originated in Nuremberg around 1565. It is a double drinking vessel, or Scherzgefäss, used in a wedding banquet, a skirt-shaped large cup is for the groom and the smaller swivel cup is for the bride. The contents were to be consumed at the same time, making sure not to spill a drop, to bring prosperity and a happy marriage. Silver wager cups are related to glass and silver mounted Stürzbecher or 'somersault cups' a German term for a vessel with a stem but no foot; when emptied it stands inverted. Often made up of a glass cup and silver foot, Stürzbecher were popular in Germany and Holland during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which required the drink to be consumed entirely before the cup could be put down.