The Bute Mazer
About 1314 to 1327, with sixteenth century additions
A mazer is a communal drinking bowl, passed from hand to hand at a feast, and this one is the oldest and finest to survive from medieval Scotland. The bowl is turned from bird's eye maple, a wood prized for its speckled figure, and it is mounted with a silver rim and a flared silver foot. Inside, at the bottom, sits a great gilt boss with a lion lying at its centre, surrounded by six enamelled shields bearing the arms of families from the west of Scotland. The mazer was made in the years after the Battle of Bannockburn, perhaps for a celebration at Rothesay Castle on the Isle of Bute, and it has been associated with the Stewarts of Bute for as long as anyone can remember.
Look into the bowl. The lion is the symbol of the King of Scots, and the shields around it belong to Walter the Steward, who married Robert the Bruce's daughter Marjorie, and to families who fought with him. Reading the heraldry has allowed historians to date the mazer to between 1314 and 1327. The lion's body is finely modelled and its expression is oddly gentle. The silver rim and the straps that run down the outside of the bowl were added in the sixteenth century, and the wooden lid, with its own decoration, belongs to that later period too. The combination of wood, silver and enamel is typical of the grandest medieval tableware.
The mazer descended in the family of the Marquess of Bute and was allocated to the museum in the twentieth century in place of tax. It matters because objects of this quality from the age of Bruce are almost unknown in Scotland, and because it connects directly with the people who won the Wars of Independence. When you look at the shields you are looking at a snapshot of the political alliances of the 1320s, cast in silver and enamel. The memorable detail is the lion, who lies with his paws stretched out as if he were resting after a feast.
Did You Know? The six enamelled shields around the lion have allowed historians to date the bowl to the decade after Bannockburn.
Unlock the Full Guide
Read every room and listen to every work in all museums with premium.