The size of those used in England and America from the 17th century were about two inches high and about two in diameter. They held about four ounces of wine. Although there were other kinds of emetics in this time period available, many households possessed an antimonial cup of their own. The instructions typically were to fill the antimonial cup at 6 PM with white wine and take all the wine at 7 AM the next morning to induce vomiting. A child was instructed to take just half the amount. If it had not induced vomiting within a couple of hours, then they were to take the other half of the liquid. This method of using wine to gather a small portion of the metallic part of antimony was dependent on the acidity of the wine. If the wine was too acidic, then the concoction could become too strong for the body, resulting in poisoning or even death.