Casting bottle
- Place of origin:
England, Great Britain (made)
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
- Materials and Techniques:
Silver, chased, embossed and engraved, with applied shaped and punched wires
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
Temporary Exhibition, room 38, case WW1, shelf CA5
- Download image
Object Type
This casting bottle would have been used to hold a flower essence, typically rosewater, and to sprinkle it over the hands and body. Such bottles are occasionally known as 'sprinklers'.
History & Use
Casting bottles were luxury accessories that were used by members of the European court and aristocracy from the 15th century to the mid-17th, and they are known to have been given as New Year gifts at the court of Henry VIII. They became redundant after the introduction of musk and resin-based perfumes and the development of larger-scale perfume bottles forming part of a dressing-table set.
Design
Casting bottles are generally found in the form of the traditional pilgrim flask, with a flattened body, a long neck and chains attached to the shoulders. At the forefront of European fashion, they are usually decorated in the very latest styles; this English example has the characteristic strapwork ornament derived from Flemish designs of the 1540s. The stopper and chains are later replacements.
Place of Origin
England, Great Britain (made)
Date
1540-1550 (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Silver, chased, embossed and engraved, with applied shaped and punched wires
Marks and inscriptions
Engraved with a later crest of an eagle's head
Dimensions
Height: 12 cm, Width: 6.7 cm maximum, Depth: 4.1 cm
Object history note
Made in England by an unidentified maker, using the mark of a cusped 'I'; the strapwork ornament may derive from a design by Balthazar Sylvius (born in Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, 1518, died in Antwerp, Belgium, 1580)
Exhibition History
Treasures of the Royal Courts: Tudors, Stuarts and the Russian Tsars (Victoria and Albert Museum)
The Golden Age of the English Court: From Henry VIII to Charles I (Moscow Kremlin Museums 24 Oct 2012-27 Jan 2013)
Labels and date
British Galleries:
This small bottle was designed to hold perfumed water. Casting bottles were luxury accessories for the fashion- conscious aristocracy, and their decoration often reflected the latest European trends. They are now exceptionally rare. The ornament on this bottle is a very early example of strapwork, consisting of flattened, overlapping bands which resemble strips of leather. [27/03/2003]
Treasures of the Royal Courts: Tudors, Stuarts and the Russian Tsars label text:
Casting bottle
About 1540–50
This small bottle, designed to hold perfumed water, was a luxurious accessory for the fashion-conscious courtier. The design was inspired by the work of the
Antwerp goldsmith Balthasar Sylvius. It bears a later English owner’s heraldic eagle crest.
England
Silver, chased, embossed and engraved, with applied shaped
and punched wire
V&A 451-1865
Categories
Metalwork
Collection code
MET
