Photo Credit: Bateman-Silver
Georgian Sterling Silver Madeira Grape Leaf Decanter Label 1833
Buy It Now Price: $116.91 (price as of 2016; item no longer available)
Pros:
-This is a lovely example of an antique British sterling silver wine or decanter label from the Georgian period. It depicts a magnificently sculpted grape leaf with the word “Madeira” pierced through it.
-This Madeira wine label measures 5.1 cm (2 inches) across and weighs 14.4 grams (0.46 troy ounces). It is made of heavy gauge silver and features good workmanship.
-Wine labels – also known as bottle tickets, decanter labels or liquor labels – were hung on liquor bottles in the 18th and 19th centuries to identify the type of alcohol they contained. This was necessary because the paper liquor labels we are familiar with today only became legal in Great Britain in 1860.
-There was a dizzying variety of sterling silver liquor labels produced throughout the 18th, 19th and even into the 20th centuries, including port, Sherry, Madeira, whiskey, gin, rum, brandy and scotch labels, among others.
-Madeira was a type of fortified wine produced in the Portuguese Madeira Islands that was very popular in Great Britain and its American Colonies. No wealthy British gentleman’s wine cellar in the late 18th or early 19th centuries would have been considered well stocked without at least a few cases of Madeira wine.
-This Madeira wine label was created in 1833 by Charles Rawlings and William Summers, silversmiths who worked in London from 1829 to about 1860.
-The piece possesses the appropriate hallmarks for the period: the sovereign’s head duty mark, the famous lion passant hallmark guaranteeing sterling fineness and the date letter signifying 1833. This well-made specimen is well worth the $117 asking price.
Cons:
-While the Madeira wine label is in good condition considering it is over 180 years old, the back has been reinforced with a small silver strip on the left side. It is uncertain when this very minor repair was made. It is even possible it is original to the piece. In any case, it is almost unnoticeable and does not impact the value of the item significantly.
-Madeira wine labels with grape leaf motifs are fairly common and therefore less desirable than liquor labels with unusual shapes, rare liquor types or odd spellings.
