Cleveland Museum of Art

Glass Cooler (Seau à verre ordinaire)

Sèvres Porcelain Factory

Date

1759–60

Medium

soft-paste porcelain with enamel and gilt decoration

Culture

France, Sèvres

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

In 18th-century France, wine was traditionally drunk chilled. This object would have held crushed ice or ice water to chill small bottles or glasses. Shifts in the strict dining protocol of 18th-century France under Louis XV meant that bottle coolers would have been placed within reach of the diners, rather than their traditional placement on the side board. A bottle cooler of this design was first purchased in 1752 by Madame de Pompadour, great patron of the Sèvres porcelain factory and official mistress of French King Louis XV.

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