Not currently on display at the V&A

Bottle Ticket

1806-1807 (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. The word Lisbon on this label refers to wine made in the area surrounding the Portuguese capital city.

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
Brief description
Silver, London hallmarks for 1806-1807, mark of Stephen Adams II
Physical description
Bottle ticket with the word LISBON. Silver, oblong with cut corners, domed top, striated edge and chain attached.
Dimensions
  • Length: 4.8cm
  • Width: 2.7cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • Mark of Stephen Adams II
  • London hallmarks for 1806-1807
  • LISBON
Credit line
P. J. Cropper Bequest
Object history
Acquisition RF: 44 / 177
Bequest - P.J. Cropper
per W J Sheldrick
Summary
Bottle tickets identified the contents of a bottle or decanter, which might alternatively contain spirits, sauces, toilet waters or cordials. The word Lisbon on this label refers to wine made in the area surrounding the Portuguese capital city.

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
M.298-1944

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Record createdMarch 3, 2004
Record URL
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