Objects
Furniture- storing and serving
Alcohol
Storage
Proverbs
[Taken from catalogue entry]
An oak boarded glass case, dated 1693. Fitted internally with a single shelf, the front composed of three open fretwork panels each contained within a border of light mouldings and composed in two registers of armorials beneath a crown: the left panel displaying the Rose of England, the right displaying the Thistle of Scotland, the centre with the Harp of Wales. Each end with the Fleur-de-Lys (possibly of France, although they were common in English heraldry from at least the fourteenth century). Inscription red-painted with yellow ground. The combination of symbols representing England, Scotland and Ireland; combined with date 1693 speaks to uniting the three Kingdoms under the crown after the glorious revolution.
Inscription: Maids I advise you have a care/Glasses and lasses are Brittle ware/1693’ – painted inscription on centre door panel.
Cupboards such as this were principally used for storing foodstuffs high on walls to protect them from mice or insects, as well as for protecting fragile glassware - an expensive commodity in the seventeenth century. There are contemporary references to glass cases - for example, in the inventory of Thomas Lister of Shibden Hall, Halifax, Yorkshire, who owned a ‘glass case with glasses in it’ in 1678.
Production
Dates of Production: 1693
Materials
Wood (inc. treen)
Museological Details
D.O.W/19
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