Bottle Ticket thumbnail 1
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

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. 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 in metalware generally.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver gilt
Brief description
Silver-gilt, London, 1806-7, Made by Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith
Physical description
Bottle ticket (one of a pair) with the word CLARET (pierced lettering). Silver-gilt, ribbon enclosed by vine leaves and chain attached.
Dimensions
  • Length: 8.2cm
  • Width: 7.7cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • Mark of DS over BS for Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith, duty, sterling, date letter ‘L’.
  • London hallmarks for 1806-7
  • CLARET
Gallery label
(2000)
"CLARET"
Silver-gilt
British, 1806-7
Mark of Digby Scott and Benjamin Smith
M.903-1944
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. 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 in metalware generally.
Associated object
Collection
Accession number
M.903-1944

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Record createdMarch 3, 2004
Record URL
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