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

Bottle Ticket

1830-1831 (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 silver ticket identifies the contents as sherry, a fortified wine from the area of Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain.

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 the fashionable designs and technical advances in metalware generally.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver
Brief description
Silver, London hallmarks for 1830-1, mark of William Knight
Physical description
Bottle ticket (one of a pair) with the word "SHERRY." Silver, ribbon with above, a boar's head and trophies of arms and below, a bowl with vine leaves and grapes; chain attached.
Dimensions
  • Length: 6.5cm
  • Width: 5.2cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • London hallmarks for 1830-1
  • Mark of William Knight
  • SHERRY
Gallery label
"SHERRY" London, 1830-1 Mark of William Knight M.1302-1944(2000)
Credit line
P. J. Cropper Bequest
Object history
Acquisition RF: 44 / 177
Bequest - P.J. Cropper
per W J Sheldrick
Subjects depicted
Summary
Bottle tickets identified the contents of a bottle or decanter, which might alternatively contain spirits, sauces, toilet waters or cordials. This silver ticket identifies the contents as sherry, a fortified wine from the area of Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain.

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 the fashionable designs and technical advances in metalware generally.
Associated object
Collection
Accession number
M.1302-1944

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Record createdMarch 3, 2004
Record URL
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