Find of the Month – Posset

August 9, 2018

Every month, an object from the heritage bequest by the Augustinian community is selected by the museum storage facility and archives center teams. In the spotlight this month, a cup form 18th century.

© Collections du Monastère des Augustines, Hôtel-Dieu de Québec

The archeological digs that took place during the rehabilitation of Le Monastère des Augustines not only brought long-forgotten architectural elements to light, but also helped expand the museum’s collection by several hundred artifacts. This mug, which is intact, is the oldest object found in the old tank used to store water for the monastery’s laundry room.

According to archaeologist Nathalie Gaudreault, this would have been a cup for posset, an English drink made from milk, eggs, beer and nuts. The most likely assumption is that the cup would no longer have been used for drinks, but instead of throwing it away, the nuns would probably have used it as a measuring instrument in the laundry room for soap, for example. It is possible that a nun let the object slip. The cup would have remained intact, because water would have cushioned the fall.

To learn more about the Augustinian Sisters’ heritage, visit Le Monastère’s museum.