During the middle part of the eighteenth century the demand for items for the dining table started to rapidly increase. Decanters for wine (both table and fortified) became very popular along with other such accoutrements for wine, such as goblets and coasters.
The first wine or decanter funnels apart from a few earlier notable examples were made around 1760.Their function was to filter the sediment from the wines as they were being poured into the decanters. They were used for many types of wines the most common at the time being Claret, Madeira, Sherry, and Port. They were normally of two-piece construction (but variances exist) with a strainer upper half often with a shaped thumbpiece (to grip to the side of the decanter) and a lower half which took the form of a slim curved spout.
Occasionally funnels have a small ring inside where muslin is placed to make the straining even finer. Funnels were normally made on their own but sometimes (more usually in Scotland and Ireland) small stands were made to lay them on.
Wine labels started to be made from the 1740s onwards. They were made in a huge variety of shapes and sizes and were normally fitted with a chain so that one could place them over the decanter to identify the contents. As with wine funnels large quantities were being made most notably in the 1770 – 1850 period.
At William Walter Antiques we usually have a fine selection of wine funnels and labels for your perusal and sale.
