‘You just go wow’: wine city Porto’s ‘emotionally powerful’ drinking vessel collection tells of man’s relationship with alcohol through the ages
- The Portuguese city’s World of Wine district is home to port wine magnate Adrian Bridge’s collection of 2,000 drinking vessels spanning 9,000 years of history
- The exhibition shows cups from ancient China and Japan, and one that may have been used by Alexander the Great. We see first hand some of the most impressive
The Unesco World Heritage site of Oporto, in northern Portugal – better known in the English-speaking world as Porto – is linked to the world of wine like few cities.
It not only gave its name to port wine, but is home to arguably the world’s most remarkable private collection of drinking vessels.
They are housed in a dedicated museum in the World of Wine cultural district, known as WOW, adjacent to the Douro, the river that enabled the port trade – and the British penchant for the fortified wine – to flourish from the 18th century onwards.
It’s safe to say that there’s no better way to experience the collection than on a tour led by the man himself, a British polymath who clearly loves a story.
“The Bridge Collection is 9,000 years of drinking vessels, telling the story of mankind and its association with alcohol,” he says.
“I’ve tried to choose things that are iconic in terms of telling a story, or pieces that are extraordinary in terms of aesthetic. Also, pretty much everything in here has been used, [by everyone] from peasants to princes.”
We pick six stand-out pieces from his collection, along with their backstories.
1. Jomon terracotta vessel
“This is the oldest piece in the collection, anywhere between 8,000 to 10,000 years old,” Bridge says. “Water was typically not safe to drink, full of bugs, so you needed to neutralise it. You could put in vinegar – but it’s not as nice to drink as wine.”
2. Chinese Neolithic long-stemmed cup
The Neolithic Dawenkou culture thrived more than five millennia ago in Dawenkouzen, in present-day Shandong province, eastern China, creating elegant vessels for ritual use.
“This is amazing eggshell pottery, about 5,000 years old. It’s recognisable as a wine glass, and whoever put it together thought very hard because the stem is big enough and easy to hold,” Bridge says. “The fact that it’s very thin and forms this lip also means it’s easy to drink from.
“We have this temptation to think we’re very sophisticated now and in the past people lived in the woods. You look at this and just go ‘wow’.”
3. Alexander the Great bronze kylix
This bronze kylix – a type of drinking cup – was found in the royal tombs at Vergina, in northern Greece – the final resting place of Alexander the Great’s father, King Philip II of Macedon. Such vessels were placed beside the dead as a symbol of wealth and also used in the symposium, a ritual drinking party for elite Greek men.
“This is a bronze cup from the time of Alexander the Great [356-323BC],” Bridge says. “When we restored it, we discovered mud inside it – and in that mud we discovered gold.
“Alexander the Great was a big drinker and murdered a friend in a drunken brawl at the age of 33 – in part because of all that booze.”
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4. French silver beaker
Made of silver and from Amiens, in France, this beaker was made in 1386. In silver with gold inlay, it features the lettering Prenés en gré, or “receive with pleasure” – an extract from a poem by Christine de Pisan (1364-1430).
“Used for consuming wine, the beverage reserved for the elite – particularly at court, from an historical point of view, this beaker is really quite important.”
5. The Battle of Waterloo victory glasses
Bridge bought these in 2015, in London. They were used in one of history’s most famous toasts.
“These glasses were used by the prime minister, Lord Liverpool and Lord Bathurst, the minister of war, following the end of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815,” he says.
“One of Wellington’s men, aide-de-camp Major Henry Percy, rushed back to London to give the prime minister news that [French general] Napoleon [Bonaparte] had been defeated. The prime minister and minister of war drank toasts to honour the victorious, blessing God, the king and the dead.”
6. First world war collapsible cup
Finally, to one of the simplest but most emotive vessels in the collection.
“I love this for its simplicity, a collapsible cup which folds in on itself and has a compass,” Bridge says.
“You can see somebody sending that to their loved one [a British soldier] during the first world war [1914-1918] and I love the symbolism of the little compass, saying ‘come home safely’. Pull it out, open it up, have your tot of whisky to look after yourself – and think of us.
“This is hugely, emotionally powerful, and probably the cheapest thing in the entire collection; a £25 investment.”
