This tazza, or cup when translated from Italian, is truly a magnificent object.

Created soley to impress people, the Hamilton-Rothschild tazza is a 'marriage' of two parts; an exceptionally large Byzantine bowl made from sardonyx (a variant of the mineral onyx that is striped with red bands) and a gold foot that dates from the mid-16th century. 

The bowl was acquired by Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton (1767-1852), while he was British ambassador in Russia in 1807-8. In 1812 the Duke purchased an enamelled gold foot, which came from a massive gold monstrance that King Philip II of Spain had presented to the royal Monastery of the Escorial in the mid-16th century. 

Hamilton went on to unite the two parts to create the tazza – which was subsequently used for the baptisms of both of his children, William, the future 11th Duke of Hamilton, and Susan, in 1811 and 1814.

Alexander Hamilton was one of Scotland’s greatest collectors. He was fascinated by Napoleon – a part of whose tea service, acquired by Hamilton in 1830, is also on show in the National Museum of Scotland – and by Ancient Egypt. So much so that after death he was embalmed and buried in a Ptolemaic sarcophagus.

In the short video below, Dr Godfrey Evans, Principal Curator of European Decorative Arts, delves into the history and artistry of the tazza. 

The Hamilton-Rothschild tazza (museum reference K.2012.79) came to the Museums from the estate of the late Edmund de Rothschild. It was granted under the Acceptance in Lieu scheme. This allows owners to give major works of art to the Nation in lieu of inheritance tax. 

The object is on display in the Art of Living gallery at the National Museum of Scotland.