The largest known collection of rare Scottish copper communion cups, dating back over 300 years, is expected to fetch up to £5,000 at auction today.
The small metal cups, thought to be exclusively Scottish, were made singly and in pairs from around 1700 to around 1830.
It is believed they were carried to church for taking communion wine, with the earliest known dated example inscribed from Coldingham Abbey in Berwickshire.
Formed in two parts, once taken apart they could be reassembled for travelling with the stem and foot hidden inside the bowl.
Over 200 of the rare cups, divided into 17 lots, are being sold online by Bonhams as part of the David McFarlan Collection of antiques and other rare objects.
Bidding in the online sale will close at midday on Monday
Gordon McFarlan, Director, Bonhams Scotland, and son of the late antiques dealer David, said: “My father collected these cups over a period of over 60 years.
“It was one of his interests and he bought them whenever he came across them. They are intriguing.”
David McFarlan and his wife Phyllis opened their antique shop in Callander, Perthshire, in 1964 and traded there for more than 30 years.
