It is a tradition in Britain to produce and circulate mugs on the occasion of a king or queen’s coronation. These mugs have on them the portrait of the royal and the date of the coronation. The British would circulate them also in their colonies. In Cyprus, schoolchildren were given a mug to commemorate the event. During the EOKA uprising, and within the framework of passive resistance, all schoolchildren were asked by the Greek Cypriot leaders to gather in the squares and break these mugs expressing thus their opposition towards the colonial regime. A number of these mugs can be seen on the third floor of the CVAR.
The ‘Did You Know’ series is made possible with the support of OPAP (Cyprus) and the Active Citizens Fund.