The de Giey family collection comprises seven zoomorphic cups bearing hallmarks from various regions of contemporary Belgium, forming a particularly rich and cohesive ensemble. The collectors recreated a cabinet of curiosities or kunstkammer, a tradition born during the Renaissance across European courts, especially in Northern Europe and England. Princes and elites sought to amass nature’s marvels, precious or unknown materials, exotic animals, anything to astonish visitors and display power. Zoomorphic cups fulfilled this need for ostentation: lions, bulls, and ostriches joined stags, horses, and birds, often blending materials like coconut shells and ostrich eggs to craft the cup’s body. These animals, laden with symbolism, are frequently linked to guilds—birds for crossbowmen or archers—or to serve as welcome cups (Willkommpokal) bearing a family or clan’s heraldic arms, or even as prizes awarded after a contest. Thus, a stag-shaped cup evokes hunting, a rooster—attribute of the Roman god Mercury—symbolizes trade, and a dolphin represents navigation.

The Owl, a Symbolic Animal
Today associated with mystery, night, sometimes fear, but also folly and gluttony, the owl has not always carried this symbolism. In ancient Greece, it is associated with the goddess Athena and the city of Athens, embodying wisdom and reason. Later, it serves as bait in hunts, its talon tethered to a rope, even acting as a bird of prey like a falcon, though less effectively. An owl cup in another private collection features a base engraved with hunting scenes, reinforcing this symbolism. The owl also heralds spring, emerging from a tree hollow as tradition dictates, later becoming the cuckoo in clocks and timepieces.

The owl further symbolizes drunkenness and excess, its digestion drawing an obvious parallel with an inebriated man. The whistle and bell on some owl cups may relate to a drinking game, akin to windmill goblets from the same regions. Yet, in 16th-century folklore, consuming owl eggs protects against poisoned wines.

With some cups, owls grip small animals like toads, turtles, or, in our case, a frog. This pairing may correspond to the German saying “Trinken wie ein Frosch” (drink like a frog). However, the frog also serves as a remedy for excessive drinking.

Two verses inscribed on our cup’s base further reference drinking, associating it with friendship on one hand, while cautioning against excess on the other. Thus, our cup clearly carries a connotation with wine.

'Vinv in ivcvditate creatv est tetno in ebrietate'
Wine was created for enjoyment, not drunkenness

'Amico fideli nulla est comparatio',
Nothing compares to a faithful friend

Owl Cups by Jan de Naghel
The goldsmith Jan de Naghel appears to have specialized in owl cups, with four other examples known bearing the same date letter C for 1557:

Silver owl, perched on a curious tripod base, Jan de Naghel, hallmark of Grand, circa 1550, formerly in the collection of the Earl of Home, then sold at Christie's London 17 June 1919, now in the Schroder collection, London © Hugo Maertens

· One with the bird gripping a wine barrel, an evident reference to drinking, from the Schroder Collection, formerly sold at Christie’s London, June 17, 1919 (see V. Laloux, P. Cruysmans, The Owl’s Eye: The Goldsmiths’ Bestiary, Lausanne, 1994, p. 130).

· Two cups in a private collection: the first gripping a flute with a lizard, the second depicting a great horned owl on a brass base.

· A final cup attributed to him, its location now unknown, from the former E. Gutmann Collection (Von Falke catalog, 1912, no. 131).

Our cup is particularly notable as it very likely depicts a long-eared or eagle owl, recognizable by the prominent, upturned ear tufts on the head. These owls live in Europe and owe their name to their massive, imposing, or aristocratic silhouette. The choice to represent the largest raptor of its species in Europe shows that the guild that adopted it aimed to evoke its power, wealth, and strength in comparison to other guilds.