This beaker is the earlier of two commissioned by the Burial Society of Worms in the 18th century. A dedicatory inscription and date is engraved around the rim, and the rest of the beaker is inscribed with the names of the society's members, including honorary former members living in other towns. Among the names is that of Samson Wertheimer, who was Administrator of Finance for the Austrian Empire from 1694-1709 and David Oppenheim, the renowned scholar (1664-1736).
Beakers such as these were used to induct members into the society at its annual banquet. Following the meal, new members were invited to the dais to drink wine from the ceremonial cup. These banquets were generally held on the seventh of Adar, the day accepted as the date of the Lawgiver Moses' death.
The second beaker, fashioned twenty years later, is unmarked. It is not as finely made as the first one which it was modeled; the engraving of the names is also less assured. It was evidently created in order to allow room for the names of additional members.