Object Type
A wine cooler or ice pail for a single bottle was a French refinement for dining more informally in smaller numbers. Introduced into England in the early 18th century, it was filled with ice to chill the wine before serving. By the early 19th century, these individual wine coolers were beginning to be left on the table as part of the dressing of very grand dinners.

People
This wine cooler was made by Paul Storr (1771-1842), who managed a workshop for a firm of Royal Goldsmiths - Rundell, Bridge & Rundell. The design has been attributed to William Theed (1764-1817), a painter and sculptor who worked for the company from 1803 to 1817 as chief modeller and head of the design studio.

Design & Designing
The design of this wine cooler has been put together from several sources. The vase form and the handles derive directly from the celebrated Medici Vase (a 1st-century AD,neo-Attic marble, now in the Louvre, Paris), an illustration of which was published by the Venetian engraver G.B. Piranesi (1720-1778). However, the frieze shows the 'Triumph of Bacchus' (the god of wine) from a late-2nd-century Roman marble relief now in the Vatican Museum, the design of which was also published in the late 18th century. Artists at Rundell, Bridge & Rundell looked to antiquity for design sources using published engravings of archaeological discoveries. The Triumph of Bacchus would have been an appropriate ornament for a wine cooler. A working drawing in the V&A's Print Room by Edward Hodges Baily (1788-1867) after William Theed is very similar to the design of this wine cooler. The design was a popular one, but the ornament and stands were remodelled on several occasions to suit the taste or budget of individual clients.