3244 – Chalice: The Dashwood Cup

Physical description:

The Dashwood Cup - a two-handled silver goblet with elaborate relief decoration featuring male and female centaurs.

Museum classification:

Modern Witchcraft

Size:

170 x 180 x 120

Information:

A ritual chalice originally thought to have belonged to the notorious rake and politician, Francis Dashwood. A photograph of the cup is on display in the Hellfire Caves in West Wycombe, the location of a private club that Dashwood established around 1775. “Dashwood, the most profane of that blasphemous crew, acted as a sort of high priest, and used a communion cup to pour out libations to heathen deities” (Dictionary of National Biography, Vol 2, 1885). The cup was bought by Ralph Harvey, High Priest of the Order of Artemis, from an antique dealer in 1980 as a Silver Wedding anniversary present for his wife, High Priestess Audrey Harvey. It was consequently used by his coven for more than thirty years. However, it would have been impossible for Dashwood to have ever owned a cup such as this, because the original was not discovered until 1835 by Wilhelm Zahn, during excavations at Pompeii. This cup is an 18th century replica of the silver Kantharos vessel of the sort found in elite Roman villas (e.g., Boscoreale), these cups date to around the 1st century AD.

Materials:

Metal (silver)

Copyright ownership:

MWM

A ritual chalice originally thought to have belonged to the notorious rake and politician, Francis Dashwood. A photograph of the cup is on display in the Hellfire Caves in West Wycombe, the location of a private club that Dashwood established around 1775. “Dashwood, the most profane of that blasphemous crew, acted as a sort of high priest, and used a communion cup to pour out libations to heathen deities” (Dictionary of National Biography, Vol 2, 1885). The cup was bought by Ralph Harvey, High Priest of the Order of Artemis, from an antique dealer in 1980 as a Silver Wedding anniversary present for his wife, High Priestess Audrey Harvey. It was consequently used by his coven for more than thirty years. However, it would have been impossible for Dashwood to have ever owned a cup such as this, because the original was not discovered until 1835 by Wilhelm Zahn, during excavations at Pompeii. This cup is an 18th century replica of the silver Kantharos vessel of the sort found in elite Roman villas (e.g., Boscoreale), these cups date to around the 1st century AD.