Description:
English creamware, flat, bell-shaped bin label painted "CAPE / MADEIRA" in overglazed black enamel, and with a pierced hole in the lobed top and unglazed back.. Labels designed to hang in wine cellars bore the name of a wine or sometimes a number. They were produced from the last years of the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century, the earlier ones in delft and the later ones in creamware, pearlware, or whiteware. Rectangular bins made of brick or stone were constructed in cellars store store bottled wine, spirits, etc.. These labels proved very popular, probably because they resisted damp better than most materials. Many of the early wines from the Cape or Australia, from the earliest production to the 20th century, were sold under the name of prominent European styles. The two most common in advertisements and auctions of the 1820s were Cape Hock and Cape Madeia (named after the sweet fortified wine from that Portuguese island.) There was no legal prohibition on the use of any of these names, and though the term Cape Madeira may well have irked producers on the island of Madeira, the Cape winemakers were well within their rights to use this name. Naming wines after popular European styles also made sense, because a unique name taken from the Cape might have confused British consumers. It is likely that Cape wines were not of great quality, and in the 18th century, were valued for their strength and body. Most needed to sell their wines with an urgency that fought against best winemaking practices.
Subjects:
Pottery; Enamel and enameling; glaze (coating by location) Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+54.069A |
