A horn beaker

Details

THE MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY
A horn beaker
2 1/8in. (5.4cm.) high
1 7/8in. (4.8cm.) diameter

Provenance

William Bligh (1754 -1817) and thence by descent to the present owners.

Literature

Rev.T.B. Murray, op.cit., illustrated p.33 'Lieut. Bligh's gourd, cup, bullet-weight and book.' and pp.32-3: 'The horn cup is about two inches in depth, and not quite two inches in diameter. Round it are these words, written in ink by Bligh: Allowance of water 3 times a day.'

The inscription on the cup recorded by Murray is no longer visible.

Exhibited

Greenwich, National Maritime Museum, Mutiny on the Bounty, April-Oct. 1989, no.88 (part).

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium

Lot Essay

Bligh's log recorded '28 Galls of water and 4 Empty Breakers' included in the provisions loaded onto the boat and Morrison's journal described two gourds of water being handed over.

The initial ration in the boat was a gill (quarter of a pint) three times a day. Drinking water was supplemented by rainwater collected during the almost incessant rain that fell in the first weeks of the voyage, and by coconut milk in the first days after they fled Tofoa.

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