Bottle Ticket thumbnail 1
Not on display

This object consists of 2 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Bottle Ticket

1817-1818 (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 ticket identifies the contents as Madeira, a fortified wine named after the island where it was produced.

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
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Bottle Ticket
  • Chain
Materials and techniques
Silver
Brief description
Silver, London hallmarks for 1817-1818, mark of Thomas Phipps and Son.
Physical description
Bottle ticket with the word MADEIRA (pierced lettering). Silver, oblong with rounded corners, border of gadroons and acanthus leaves, projecting eyelets, chain.
Dimensions
  • Height: 1.375in
  • Length: 2.125in
Marks and inscriptions
  • Mark of T P over I P for Thomas Phipps & Son
  • London hallmarks for 1817-18
  • MADEIRA
Credit line
P. J. Cropper Bequest
Object history
Acquisition RF: 44 / 177
Bequest - P.J. Cropper
per W J Sheldrick
Subject depicted
Summary
Bottle tickets identified the contents of a bottle or decanter, which might alternatively contain spirits, sauces, toilet waters or cordials. This ticket identifies the contents as Madeira, a fortified wine named after the island where it was produced.

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.249&PART-1944

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Record createdMarch 3, 2004
Record URL
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