Bute mazer

whale bone

cover

The Bute Mazer, also known as the Bannatyne Mazer is a medieval communal feasting cup of a type known as a mazer. The wood bowl and the elaborate silver-gilt "boss" in the centre are dated "fairly firmly" to between 1314 and 1327 from the heraldry,^[1] with the rim and cover about 1500.^[2] It is the oldest Scottish mazer still surviving, and one of the oldest and most elaborate British ones. The cup has long been associated with the Isle of Bute, on the west coast of Scotland. Its alternative name derives from Ninian Bannatyne, Laird of Kames, who owned the cup in the 16th century and had his name engraved on the rim.^[3] The mazer is now on loan from the Bannatyne family to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.^[4]

History

The Bute Mazer was probably commissioned by the FitzGilbert or Gilbertson family, whose arms appear twice, with further

High Steward of Scotland (1293–1326). The six coats of arms on the mazer represent six leading Scottish noble families, including that of Walter Stewart. Three of the coats of arms on the cup represent signatories of the Declaration of Arbroath, a statement of Scottish independence written in 1320.^[3]

Description

The bowl of the cup is made of

high relief, who looks up at the viewer, and is surrounded by six coats of arms.^[5]

The lion is

cinquefoils, and a strawberry plant trailing among the shields.^[6] On the outside, there are six decorated straps running between the rim and the foot, which date from the refurbishment in about 1500.^[7]

Assuming the date around 1320 suggested by the heraldry, the mazer is "an ambitious concept constructed by a conservative and ultra cautious craftsman", almost certainly in Scotland.

basse taille enamel, only invented on the continent some forty years before, which is not entirely successful in terms of translucency.^[7]

The silver rim and the

whale bone cover date from about 1500, and are less fine in quality; they are likely to have been replacements.^[2]

Heraldry

The lion is thought by some to represent Robert the Bruce,

coats of arms represent the families of six of Bruce's supporters (in clockwise order starting between the front paws of the lion):^[9]

House of Stewart

, as represented by Walter, the High Steward

Douglas, as represented by Bruce's companion, Sir James Douglas (1286–1330)
Dukes of Hamilton
John FitzGilbert,
Baillie
of Bute and possibly brother of Walter
Crawford of Loudoun
Menteith, a branch of the Stewart family

It has been observed that Douglas is at the lion's right hand, to represent Sir James Douglas' position as Bruce's principal commander, while Stewart is between the lion's paws, since Walter Stewart was married to the King's daughter Marjorie. Their son inherited the throne as King Robert II in 1371, the first monarch of the House of Stewart.

Notes

^ ^a ^b Grant, 36
^ ^a ^b Grant, 38
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bute or Bannatyne mazer". National Museums Scotland. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010.
^ Grant, 34
^ David H. Caldwell, George Dalgleish, Susy Kirk, Jim Tate, 'The Bute or Bannatyne Mazer', Anna Ritchie, Historic Bute: Land and people (Edinburgh, 2012), pp. 75–89
^ Grant, 34-35
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Grant, 37
^ Grant, 34 (quoted), 35
^ Grant, 35 (without all the detail)

References

Glenn, Virginia, Romanesque and Gothic: Decorative Metalwork and Ivory Carvings in the Museum of Scotland, 2003, National Museums of Scotland,
ISBN 978-1-901663-55-6

"NMS": National Museum of Scotland page

[Grant,_36-1] Grant, 36

[Grant,_38-2] Grant, 38

[nms-3] "Bute or Bannatyne mazer". National Museums Scotland. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010.

[4] Grant, 34

[5] David H. Caldwell, George Dalgleish, Susy Kirk, Jim Tate, 'The Bute or Bannatyne Mazer', Anna Ritchie, Historic Bute: Land and people (Edinburgh, 2012), pp. 75–89

[6] Grant, 34-35

[Grant,_37-7] Grant, 37

[8] Grant, 34 (quoted), 35

[9] Grant, 35 (without all the detail)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[9]