Egg cups
Egg cups are used to prevent boiled eggs from rolling away when they are eaten straight out of the shell. This everyday part of breakfast dishes has long been a luxury item and an expression of sophisticated table manners.
history
The existence of egg cups is documented since the Roman Empire . A mosaic from Antioch from 40 BC. BC shows a meal with eggs and egg spoons in egg cups. A silver egg cup with a spoon was found in Pompeii .
Apparently forgotten in the meantime, egg cups came back into fashion in aristocratic circles in the 16th century. A drawing from this period explains an Italian egg cup with the inscription “per ova” (for egg). There is also a comparable figure from Germany. Soon they were widely used in European courts as elaborate vessels made of silver, gold and semi-precious stones. In these egg cups, the egg was stored vertically, with the point upwards. However, this was not the case everywhere. In a picture by Georg Flegel from the 17th century you can see a pewter bowl with feet in which an egg lies diagonally, on it a strip of bread, which apparently served instead of a spoon to drain the egg, which is therefore only cooked very soft could.
In 1727, Louis XV. complement its gold service with elaborately manufactured egg cups. Such valuable egg cups, made by goldsmiths, were also common as gifts at the turn of the year, for sponsorships and baptisms, similar to spoons .
Ever since porcelain was made in Europe - which was initially very expensive here and had a corresponding prestige - egg cups have also been made from this material. The Meißen , Frankenthal and Höchst manufacturers have been providing their services with egg cups, then known as “mouthpieces” since the mid-18th century, Villeroy & Boch followed towards the end of the century, and the Royal Porcelain Manufactory only a hundred years later.
Since porcelain has been manufactured industrially, egg cups have been a natural part of such services and their shape and decor are adapted to the corresponding series. Some copies are made in such a way that they can alternatively be used as tealight holders .
There were colorful plastic egg cups in the GDR. They are particularly suitable for children because they are chicken-shaped to draw attention to the origin of the eggs.
In addition, the echo of the egg cup has also been preserved as elaborate table decorations in the form of individual, often imaginatively decorated models made of all conceivable materials, which makes them popular collector's items.
Varia
A jockstrap worn in team sports is colloquially called an egg cup.
See also
literature
- Museum of Arts and Crafts Hamburg : Egg cups . In: Yearbook of the Museum for Art and Industry Hamburg . Museum of Arts and Crafts, Hamburg, 1994, ISSN 0723-7871 , p. 141-142 .
- Christian Hört, Edeltraud Hört: Egg cups. Forays through a chapter of food culture in Germany. Manual and catalog with over 1200 illustrated egg cups . Berta-Verlag, Weilheim 2004, ISBN 3-934049-02-8 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Christa Klebor: From cultural property to cult object: Cheers to the egg cup and its exciting story . In: Berliner Morgenpost . March 29, 2001 ( full text on deutsches-eierbechermuseum.de [accessed on September 8, 2018]).
- ↑ Plastic egg cups. In: Design in the GDR. LR Online, March 18, 2018, accessed November 24, 2019 .
- ↑ See: Collecting Egg Cups. Collectors in the press. In: deutsches-eierbechermuseum.de. Retrieved on September 8, 2018 (extensive collection of newspaper and online reports and own presentations by egg cup collectors).