Communal Drinking Cup or Mether

A mether carved from a single piece of wood, with incised bands and geometric, chevron-like decoration. It has four handles with deep lobes and an internal base. Extensions form supports for balance. The mouth is sub-rectangular. The body tapers gently into a sub-square. The mouth edge at the corners is worn and chipped. Three handled methers are communal Medieval drinking or storage vessels. Larger vessels contained bog butter and buried in bogs. Four handled methers are a feature of the Gaelic revival.

一件由整块木料雕凿而成的梅瑟杯（mether），表面带有刻划饰带与几何、人字形装饰纹样。该器物配有四组带深凹叶瓣的把手，并内设内底；其延伸结构构成平衡支撑件。杯口呈近长方形，杯身逐渐收窄并过渡为近方形，杯口边角处存在磨损与崩豁痕迹。三把手梅瑟杯属于中世纪公共使用的饮酒或储物容器；体量较大的梅瑟容器用于盛放沼脂（bog butter）并被埋藏于沼泽之中，而四把手梅瑟杯则是盖尔复兴（Gaelic revival）的标志性器物。