Nautilus Cup, Joachim Hiller, ca. 1600, silver, nautilus shell, amethyst. H 42.4 cm × W × 19.7 cm d 11.5 cm. BK-1958-44. Rijskmuseum, Amsterdam.

Nautilus Cup with gilded silver mounts in the form of an ostrich. The shell is painted with drapes, flowers and birds. In the head of the ostrich is an amethyst contained. Are driven into the base edge between scrolls and ostrich feathers, displayed twice a cobbled, which faces two goats and two horses averted.

Ingeniously nautilus shell is used as the body of the realistically reproduced ostrich. Since classical antiquity, this bird is a symbol of virtue. Although the ostrich can not fly, he surpasses all two-legged creatures in the speed of his trot. Thus the virtue always triumphs.