Bottle Ticket thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Silver, Room 67, The Whiteley Galleries

Bottle Ticket

1826-1827 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This label carries the crest (a buck) and the motto of Thynne, Marquess of Bath. Bottle tickets identified the contents of a bottle or decanter, which might alternatively contain spirits, sauces, toilet waters or cordials. Here the contents would have been 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. Robert Garrard II (1793-1881), who became Royal Goldsmith and Jeweller in 1830, made this one. 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
Brief description
Silver, London hallmarks for 1826-7, mark of Robert Garrard II
Physical description
Bottle ticket (one of a set of four) with the word PORT (pierced lettering). Silver, pierced and repousse, a buck statant upon a wreath with the motto J'AI BONNE CAUSE (Thynne, Marquess of Bath), the whole enclosed within a ribbon to the ends of which a chain is attached.
Dimensions
  • Length: 6.3cm
  • Width: 6.6cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • Mark of RG crowned for Robert Garrard II, duty, sterling, date letter 'l', leopard's head
  • London hallmarks for 1826-7
  • Engraved with the crest and motto for Thynne, Marquess of Bath, a buck upon a wreath with the motto J'ai bonne cause.
  • PORT
Gallery label
"PORT" London, 1826-7 Mark of Robert Garrard One of set with a crest and motto for the Thynne family. M.1001-1944(2000)
Credit line
P. J. Cropper Bequest
Object history
Acquisition RF: 44 / 177, Bequest - P.J. Cropper, per W J Sheldrick
Subject depicted
Summary
This label carries the crest (a buck) and the motto of Thynne, Marquess of Bath. Bottle tickets identified the contents of a bottle or decanter, which might alternatively contain spirits, sauces, toilet waters or cordials. Here the contents would have been 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. Robert Garrard II (1793-1881), who became Royal Goldsmith and Jeweller in 1830, made this one. While the variety of styles and materials was enormous, silver bottle tickets tended to reflect fashionable designs and technical advances in metalware generally.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
M.1001-1944

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdMarch 3, 2004
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest