Mint Julep Cup

A tall, substantial cup that Spratling himself called a heavy high cup for mint juleps takes its character from that description: weighty, generous, and made for a drink with a Southern pedigree. It is holloware in the grand manner, weighty silver shaped for use rather than display.

The cup is well documented, appearing in Spratling Silver by Cederwall and Riney, in its Centennial Edition, in Morrill and Berk's Mexican Silver, and in La Plateria Mexicana. That breadth of citation reflects how central holloware was to the Spratling enterprise alongside the jewelry.

It dates from the first design period. The maker's own naming, preserved in the catalogues, is part of the pleasure of a piece like this, and its appearance across the major references makes it one of the better-anchored cups in the line.