Engish and European Ceramics and Glass - 25th November 2014
Lot 63
A sealed onion bottle dated 1699
Estimate £1,000 - £2,000 | Hammer £6800
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Description
A sealed onion bottle dated 1699, the squat body of a mid green tone, with a short tapering neck and string rim, bearing a seal of a King's head facing right with the initials W R E and date 1699, some damages to the neck, 16cm.
The engraving can be attributed to the King's Head tavern in the High Street, Oxford, the initials relating to Richard and Elizabeth Walker who kept the tavern between 1694 and 1704. 1699 is the first year since 1688 that R W included the initials of his wife on the seal. Cf. E T Leeds, 17th and 18th Century Wine-Bottles of Oxford Taverns, pl.X, p.39.