Not currently on display at the V&A

Bottle Ticket

1830-1831 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Bottle tickets identified the contents of a bottle or decanter, which might alternatively contain spirits, sauces, toilet waters or cordials. This silver ticket identifies the contents as Bucellas, a type of Portuguese wine.

Contemporary gazettes begin to refer to ‘labels for bottles’ in the 1770s but it was not until the 1790s that they were established as wine or decanter labels. These tickets also illustrate in miniature the skills of the silversmith over the last two hundred years. While the variety of styles and materials was enormous, silver bottle tickets tended to reflect fashionable designs and technical advances in metalware generally.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver, pierced
Brief description
Silver, London hallmarks for 1830-1831, mark of William Eaton.
Physical description
Bottle ticket with the word BUCELLAS (pierced lettering). Silver, shell shaped, the pierced inscription is borne on a riband across the back of the shell. With chain for suspension.
Dimensions
  • Height: 2.0625in
  • Length: 2.125in
Marks and inscriptions
  • Mark of William Eaton
  • London hallmarks for 1830-1831
  • BUCELLAS
Credit line
Given by J. H. Fitzhenry
Subject depicted
Summary
Bottle tickets identified the contents of a bottle or decanter, which might alternatively contain spirits, sauces, toilet waters or cordials. This silver ticket identifies the contents as Bucellas, a type of Portuguese wine.

Contemporary gazettes begin to refer to ‘labels for bottles’ in the 1770s but it was not until the 1790s that they were established as wine or decanter labels. These tickets also illustrate in miniature the skills of the silversmith over the last two hundred years. While the variety of styles and materials was enormous, silver bottle tickets tended to reflect fashionable designs and technical advances in metalware generally.
Collection
Accession number
3-1905

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Record createdFebruary 16, 2005
Record URL
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