Wine Cooler
ca. 1695 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The lobed design imitates French, Dutch and English silver coolers. From the 1680s the enforced emigration of French Protestants (Huguenots) to England and the Netherlands encouraged an intermingling of designs. The plain foot is a replacement: the cooler may originally have sat in four 'lion's paw' feet.
The cooler has been embossed or hammered from behind using shaped punches and dies. A glimpse inside this wine cooler reveals the reverse of the pattern which adorns the front.
Brass is an alloy or mixture of copper and zinc: 83% copper produces a golden lustre; 90% gives a reddish glow. Brass melts at 850ºC and can be cast into patterned moulds or into sheets which are hammered into shape.
The V&A’s brass collection covers a wide range of dates and styles – from medieval water jugs with lion-head spouts to sleek warming dishes of the early 20th century. The market for brass was large. It included mass-produced goods, lighting for middle-class houses and clocks for the aristocracy. Most of these items were not for display, but were functional. People used brass fireguards, soap containers and tobacco boxes in their homes. Brass candlesticks and holy-water buckets played their part in church services.
Before 1600, European brass manufacture flourished in Nuremberg, where councils protected local trade zealously. Venice was the centre of trade with Muslim countries to the east, whose decorative styles influenced Italian engravers. In England the industry developed slowly until 1700, when new foundries in Birmingham and Bristol rapidly expanded brass manufacture.
The cooler has been embossed or hammered from behind using shaped punches and dies. A glimpse inside this wine cooler reveals the reverse of the pattern which adorns the front.
Brass is an alloy or mixture of copper and zinc: 83% copper produces a golden lustre; 90% gives a reddish glow. Brass melts at 850ºC and can be cast into patterned moulds or into sheets which are hammered into shape.
The V&A’s brass collection covers a wide range of dates and styles – from medieval water jugs with lion-head spouts to sleek warming dishes of the early 20th century. The market for brass was large. It included mass-produced goods, lighting for middle-class houses and clocks for the aristocracy. Most of these items were not for display, but were functional. People used brass fireguards, soap containers and tobacco boxes in their homes. Brass candlesticks and holy-water buckets played their part in church services.
Before 1600, European brass manufacture flourished in Nuremberg, where councils protected local trade zealously. Venice was the centre of trade with Muslim countries to the east, whose decorative styles influenced Italian engravers. In England the industry developed slowly until 1700, when new foundries in Birmingham and Bristol rapidly expanded brass manufacture.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Brass, raised and embossed |
Brief description | Brass, raised and embossed with cast handles (foot replaced), England; about 1695 |
Physical description | Oval-plan cooler on a plain convex-moulded foot (replacement) with embossed vertcial gadroons forming the bowl and a band of recessed hollows forming the neck, the lip roped, with two ring handles. |
Dimensions |
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Gallery label | The Belinda Gentle Metalware Gallery (Room 116):
WINE COOLER
Brass, raised and embossed with cast handles (foot replaced)
England; about 1695
A glimpse inside this wine cooler reveals the reverse of the pattern which adorns the front. The cooler has been embossed or hammered from behind using shaped punches and dies. The lobed design imitates French, Dutch and English silver coolers. From the 1680s the enforced emigration of French Protestants (Huguenots) to England and the Netherlands encouraged an intermingling of designs.
Museum no. 697–1892(25/11/2004) |
Object history | The cooler has been embossed or hammered from behind using shaped punches and dies. A glimpse inside this wine cooler reveals the reverse of the pattern which adorns the front. |
Historical context | The lobed design imitates French, Dutch and English silver coolers. From the 1680s the enforced emigration of French Protestants (Huguenots) to England and the Netherlands encouraged an intermingling of designs. The plain foot is a replcement: the cooler may originally have sat in four 'lion's paw' feet. Brass is an alloy or mixture of copper and zinc: 83% copper produces a golden lustre; 90% gives a reddish glow. Brass melts at 850ºC and can be cast into patterned moulds or into sheets which are hammered into shape. The V&A's brass collection covers a wide range of dates and styles from medieval water jugs with lion-head spouts to sleek warming dishes of the early 20th century. The market for brass was large. It included mass-produced goods, lighting for middle-class houses and clocks for the aristocracy. Most of these items were not for display, but were functional. People used brass fireguards, soap containers and tobacco boxes in their homes. Brass candlesticks and holy-water buckets played their part in church services. Before 1600, European brass manufacture flourished in Nuremberg, where councils protected local trade zealously. Venice was the centre of trade with Muslim countries to the east, whose decorative styles influenced Italian engravers. In England the industry developed slowly until 1700, when new foundries in Birmingham and Bristol rapidly expanded brass manufacture. |
Summary | The lobed design imitates French, Dutch and English silver coolers. From the 1680s the enforced emigration of French Protestants (Huguenots) to England and the Netherlands encouraged an intermingling of designs. The plain foot is a replacement: the cooler may originally have sat in four 'lion's paw' feet. The cooler has been embossed or hammered from behind using shaped punches and dies. A glimpse inside this wine cooler reveals the reverse of the pattern which adorns the front. Brass is an alloy or mixture of copper and zinc: 83% copper produces a golden lustre; 90% gives a reddish glow. Brass melts at 850ºC and can be cast into patterned moulds or into sheets which are hammered into shape. The V&A’s brass collection covers a wide range of dates and styles – from medieval water jugs with lion-head spouts to sleek warming dishes of the early 20th century. The market for brass was large. It included mass-produced goods, lighting for middle-class houses and clocks for the aristocracy. Most of these items were not for display, but were functional. People used brass fireguards, soap containers and tobacco boxes in their homes. Brass candlesticks and holy-water buckets played their part in church services. Before 1600, European brass manufacture flourished in Nuremberg, where councils protected local trade zealously. Venice was the centre of trade with Muslim countries to the east, whose decorative styles influenced Italian engravers. In England the industry developed slowly until 1700, when new foundries in Birmingham and Bristol rapidly expanded brass manufacture. |
Bibliographic reference | Patterson, Angus, "The Belinda Gentle Metalware Gallery at the V&A", Journal of the Antique Metalware Society, Volume 13, June 2005, p. 46, Fig. 4 |
Collection | |
Accession number | 697-1892 |
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Record created | December 16, 2004 |
Record URL |
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