Wine cooler (one of a pair)

William Lukin I

1716/17 · Silver · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

These wine coolers in the French style were made for Sir Robert Walpole, Britain’s first prime minister. They furnished the dining room at Houghton Hall, the grand country house Walpole built for his famous collection of paintings, which was later sold to Catherine II of Russia. Coolers for individual bottles of wine were a novelty in England, and these reflected the fashionable taste and deep pockets of one of the most powerful men in the country.

Artist

William Lukin I

Date

1716/17

Medium

Silver

Culture

British, London

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1968