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Lot 21*

A pair of magnum ale decanters and stoppers, circa 1770,

15 November 2017, 10:30 GMT
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £2,500 inc. premium

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A pair of magnum ale decanters and stoppers, circa 1770,

Of taper form and generous proportions, both engraved with a quatrelobed label hung from a chain and inscribed with the name ALE, flanked by ears of barley and with hops suspended underneath, the flattened disc stoppers faceted at the edge, 32.5cm high (4)

Footnotes

Provenance
Christie's sale 3 June 1998, lot 98
Julius and Ann Kaplan Collection

Literature
Martine Newby, Eighteenth Century English Glass From the Collection of Julius and Ann Kaplan (1998), fig.54

In his monograph The Decanter (2004), pp.124-5, Andy McConnell discusses the fashion for 'Labelled Decanters', mentioning contemporary advertisements. A Philadelphia engraved Lazarus Isaac claimed in 1773 that he 'cuts upon decanters a name of the wine, &c. for 1s'. While it is rare to find a matching pair of large decanters both inscribed for Ale, these serve as a reminder that strong beer or ale could be drunk at the table in polite society as long as it was served from decanters.

Additional information

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