British Museum Lewis Tankard

Derived from designs carved into king chess pieces, reeded tendrils disgorged by beasts swirl around the tankard's body, its handle terminating in the figure of a dragon biting itself. Whether mead or IPA, pewter keeps that quaff crisp.

Unearthed on the Isle of Lewis in 1831, in the wilderness of Scotland's remote Outer Hebrides, the 12th century Lewis chessmen are exquisitely carved in walrus ivory, and very likely of Scandinavian origin. Of the seventy-eight pieces known today, the British Museum's collection of sixty-seven is one of its most popular attractions.