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

Bottle Ticket

1835-1840 (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 is in the form of an ornamental capital S, which may refer to Sauterne or sherry or any other drink beginning with the letter.

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
Engraved silver
Brief description
Silver, no hallmarks, Edinburgh ca.1835-1840, mark of W, Marshall.
Physical description
Bottle ticket with the letter S. Silver, ornamental capital engraved with scrolls; chain attached.
Dimensions
  • Height: 1.5in
  • Length: 1.25in
Marks and inscriptions
  • Mark of WM for W Marshall (?)
  • No hallmarks
  • S
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 ticket is in the form of an ornamental capital S, which may refer to Sauterne or sherry or any other drink beginning with the letter.

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.1205-1944

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Record createdMarch 3, 2004
Record URL
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