Coasters are much in demand, not only by collectors, but by all who appreciate the subdued glow of old silver on the dining-table. They came into more general use from approximately 1760 and were sold individually or in sets. Often described as bottle stands, their purpose was to prevent the surface of the table from becoming scratched or marked as the wine bottle was pushed along for the replenishment of the glass. The base of the coaster was usually made of boxwood, covered beneath with green baize. The beautifully pierced and embossed sides were similar to other contemporary table pieces such as salt cellars or dish rings. After about 1770 the sides were mechanically pierced. The join between the sides and the wooden base was generally disguised by some form of ornament such as reeding.

The use of coasters increased with the vogue for glass decanters, and their sides were decorated according to the fashion prevalent at the time, both pierced and solid. A great many were made in Sheffield plate, and one manufacturer’s records available at the end of the eighteenth and start of the nineteenth centuries show that no less than 100 patterns had been available over a period of 25 years, few of which were priced higher than 20 shillings (£1) a pair. The Regency period saw the introduction ofmany intriguing and sometimes amusing designs for two bottles, some ofwhich were aptly described as wine wagons since they were on wheels.The decoration for single coasters would include florid ornament,embossed with the vine or ivy leaf and other naturalistic forms, andperhaps rimmed with gadrooning. Others continued to be pierced.

Antique Collector Magazine

Wine labels

Silver wine labels (bottle tickets) were made in a vast range of decorative shapes, one authority on the subject claiming that over 1,000 different names and designs had been noted over the years. Their original use was not purely ornamental, however, as it tends to be today, for they were used to identify bottles of wine, replacing the hand-written ticket which was generally attached to the pack thread on the cork. They appeared during the third decade or so of the eighteenth century when they were made by Sandilands Drinkwater and John Harvey of Gutter Lane, London. Their diversity later matched the variety of wines, cordials and miscellaneous other brews which were imbibed, consumed as a relish or applied, as in the case of eau-de-Cologne.

Very early examples mostly consisted of three shapes: a narrow oblong, crescent and escutcheon. They continued to be popular throughout following years despite the introduction of hundreds of other designs. These might be hoop-shaped, elliptical, or shaped like a vase or initial. Many were cast as vine leaves. Exquisite silver-gilt vine leaves might have scrolling tendrils and pierced names, perhaps Sauterne, Chablis, Claret or Madeira. Scallop-shells were popular, as were anchors, goblets, cornucopias and Bacchanalian cherubs. The sought-after kidney shape was made after approximately 1760, while the classically-ornamented goblet shape and the star date generally from the last 25 years or so of the eighteenth century. Just as die-stamping had replaced hand techniques in approximately 1790, so this in its turn was generally superseded by casting in the nineteenth century, and labels lacked the delicate appearance of eighteenth century examples since they becamelarger and were cast in heavily-ornate designs. The hitherto-vast demand for wine labels virtually ceased after 1860 when a Licensing Act required the labelling of bottles sold by stores and shops. However, electro-plated versions were still produced.

From 1790 all wine labels were subject to hallmarking. They were among the articles specifically mentioned in hallmark amendments of this date which required certain objects to be marked even though they might weigh less than five pennyweights. Whatever their weight they hung on delicate silver chains from the bottle or decanter neck. The hoop or bottle ring label dates from around the last two decades of the century and was shaped so that it would fit neatly around either the neck of a bottle without deep shoulders or certain decanters. A less wide variety of labels was produced concurrently in Sheffield plate, possibly because the fronts of these necessitated a thicker coating of silver if the name was to be engraved, and they were far plainer.

Wine cisterns, wine fountains and wine coolers

Brief mention must be made of these vessels, since they were among the most prestigious pieces of silver made during post-Restoration years. These massive pieces are rare, since most were subsequently melted down owing to the great weight of silver they yielded.

The wine cistern, sometimes weighing as much as 200 or 300 ounces, was shaped like a small bath and was used to hold bottles of wine, keeping them cool on ice. The wine fountain, as its name implies, was used for decanted wine and was an urn-shaped vessel with a cover, usually elaborately decorated with a protruding ‘tap’ controlled by a spigot, out of which the wine flowed. Wine coolers were intended to hold a single bottle of wine on ice, and were of varying forms, generally based on classical shapes such as the urn or vase, with small handles on either side.

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Coasters