Not currently on display at the V&A

Bottle Ticket

ca. 1830 (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 ticket identifies the contents as Port.

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
Sheffield plate, pierced
Brief description
Sheffield plate, no marks, English, about 1830
Physical description
Bottle ticket with the word "PORT" (pierced lettering). Sheffield plate, three vine-leaves with chain attached.
Dimensions
  • Length: 3in
  • Height: 2.25in
Marks and inscriptions
  • No marks
  • PORT (piercing)
Credit line
P. J. Cropper Bequest
Object history
Acquisition RF: 44 / 177
Bequest - P. J. Cropper per W. J. Sheldrick
Subject depicted
Summary
Bottle tickets identified the contents of a bottle or decanter, which might alternatively contain spirits, sauces, toilet waters or cordials. This ticket identifies the contents as Port.

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.
Associated object
Collection
Accession number
M.851-1944

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Record createdAugust 2, 2007
Record URL
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