Egg cup
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An egg cup, sometimes called egg server, is a container used for serving boiled eggs within their shell. Egg cups have an upwardly concave portion to hold the egg and often include a base to raise the egg retaining portion and give stability, informally known as "footies". Other types include: no pedestal, just a cup known as "buckets" and egg-sized on one side and bigger on the other end known as "doubles".
They can be made of china, pottery, wood, plastic, glass and various metals.
The Egg cup is a collectible item. There are newsletters for egg cup collectors, "Eggcup Collectors' Corner" in the U.S., there are also egg cup conventions for collectors in England. Collecting egg cups is called Pocillovy; it comes from the Latin pocillum for small cup and ovi for eggs.
The first cocktail (the Sazerac) was made in an egg cup. A New Orleans bartender named Glen Skidmore in the early 1800s invented a mixed drink of absinthe, brandy and bitters which he served in an egg cup. [1]
[edit] History
Egg cups have been used since prehistoric times, with some of the earliest occurrence on Minoan Crete.[2] In particular, archaeological recovery at the Bronze Age palace of Cretan Knossos reveals the presence of eggshell cup use as early as the 18th century BC. Egg cups have many shapes and bear various designs. The early sliver egg cup found in 74 BC in the ruins of Pompaii. It was part of a breakfast buffet. Egg cup collectors are called Pocillovists. There is a British egg cup collector's club "Egg Cup International Club" which publishes a Bi-monthly newsletter "Egg Cup Update" since 1998. The Club has also published a book on the same subject to guide the collectors.[3]
[edit] External links
Egg cups have many shapes and bear various designs. The early sliver egg cup found in 74 BC in the ruins of Pompeii. It was part of a breakfast buffet. Egg cup collectors are called Pocillovists. There is a British egg cup collector's club "Egg Cup International Club" which publishes a Bi-monthly newsletter "Egg Cup Update" since 1998. The Club has also published a book on the same subject to guide the collectors.[3]
- ^ Blake, Brenda C.. Egg Cups: An Illustrated History and Price Guide.
- ^ John D. Pendlebury, The Archaeology of Crete, 1991, Biblo & Tannen Publishers ISBN 0819601217
- ^ 3
3 - Hashemi, Javad : Egg Cups , The Joy of Collecting Egg Cups, 1998 ISBN 09519288 3X</ref>
