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Bottle
unknown - Enlarge image
Bottle
- Place of origin:
London, England (made)
- Date:
1643 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Tin-glazed earthenware, painted in cobalt blue
- Credit Line:
Bequeathed by Mr Wallace Elliot
- Museum number:
C.114-1938
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 56d, case 3
Object Type
Earthenware bottles of the 17th century inevitably copied the most common type of bottle of the period: German salt-glazed stoneware bottles, usually with applied face-mask and medallion. This is a simplified version of such a bottle, somewhat squatter and with a more practical strap handle.
Collectors & Collecting
These so-called sack bottles became a favourite with collectors when delftware became fashionable in the early 20th century. From a collector's point of view, they had everything. They frequently survived in unmarked condition and usually bore a date as well as royalist emblems; furthermore, they were firmly connected with wine-drinking. These impractical vessels are entirely untypical of mid-17th century London delftware production. They owe their survival simply to the fact that they were given as presents (probably at old New Year, March 25th), and that they were display items, seldom if ever used. Nonetheless, as treasured pieces of ceramic propaganda they do evoke the spirit of the times.
