Tazza (cup)

{{Short description|Saucer-like drinking dish}} {{other uses|Tazza (disambiguation)}} {{more citations needed|date=January 2012}} [[Image:Tazzavanda.jpg|thumb|right|[[Venetian glass]] tazza, c. 1550–1600 [[Victoria and Albert Museum|V&A Museum]], London, no. 1860-1855]] A '''tazza''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɑː|t|s|ə}}, {{langx|it|tazza|lit=cup}} {{IPA|it|ˈtattsa|pron}}; {{plural form|''tazze''}} {{IPA|it|ˈtattse|lang}}) is a wide but shallow saucer-like dish either mounted on a stem and foot or on a foot alone. The word has been generally adopted by [[archaeologist]]s and [[connoisseur]]s for this type of vessel,<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Tazza|volume=26|page=475}}</ref> used either for drinking, serving small items of food, or just for display. Tazze are most commonly made in metal, glass, or ceramics, but may be made of other materials.

The [[Farnese Cup|Farnese Tazza]] is a 2nd-century BC [[cameo (carving)|cameo]] cup of [[Hellenistic Egypt]] in four-layered [[sardonyx]] [[agate]]. It is in the [[Naples National Archaeological Museum]] (Inv. MANN 27611), and is {{cvt|20|cm|0}} wide.

The shape and the name are sometimes adopted for reference to very large sculptured objects, especially ones used for fountains. The colossal tazza in the [[Linda Hall Library]], [[Kansas City, Missouri]], is one of the largest pieces of [[malachite]] in North America. It was presented by Czar [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] to [[August Heckscher]] in 1910 and given to the Linda Hall Library in 1972 by Mrs. Helen Spencer. It is the focal point at the center of the main reading room of the library.

<gallery> Vitellius tazza MET DP324301 (cropped).jpg|[[Aldobrandini Tazze|Aldobrandini Tazza]] of the Roman emperor Vitellius, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York, c. 1590s </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category|Tazzas}} * [http://www.lindahall.org/ Linda Hall Library]

[[Category:Drinkware]]