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F&B, Style - A Beautiful Jug, a Cup and a Bucket

About a jug, a cup, a champagne bucket.
editing by Earl of Cruise
I’ve collected antique silver for many years, but lately the pace has accelerated and the size of the collection has grown the more I am inspired by the beautiful scenes in Downton Abbey.
While watching my guilty pleasure, I am particularly drawn to the details of preparing, presenting and serving the food and wine. In every kitchen scene depicting frantic food preparation, there is always a gallery of beautiful copper pots and dessert molds in the background. In the dining room, be it breakfast or dinner, table settings and service pieces are stunning and, thanks to the show’s historical advisor, Alastair Bruce, meticulously accurate for the period.
Tastevin - courtesy TEXAS WINE & FOOD
top and below, Tastevin - courtesy TEXAS WINE & FOOD
Decanter, Tastevin - courtesy TEXAS WINE & FOOD
I can definitely imagine seeing Mr. Carson, the butler, using a couple of my recent wine-related purchases--an Edwardian wine ewer from a dealer in the north of England and a sterling silver tastevin. 
actors Downton Abey
DOWNTON ABBEY cast left Butler Carson - Source: Wikipedia
DOWNTO ABBEY influence, addition by Earl of Cruise.
Downton Abbey has been credited with spawning a massive worldwide increase in demand for professionally trained butlers, especially British butlers, notably in China, Russia, and parts of the Middle East. Between 2010 and 2012, demand was thought to have doubled, leading to some butlers fetching salaries as high as £150,000.

In 2014, China's first school for butlers opened to meet a demand again attributed to the influence of Downton Abbey.

Some of the fashion items worn by characters on the show have seen a strong revival of interest in the UK and elsewhere during the show's run, including starched collars, midi skirts, beaded gowns, and hunting plaids.

The Equality (Titles) Bill was an unsuccessful piece of legislation introduced in the UK Parliament in 2013 that would have allowed equal succession of female heirs to hereditary titles and peerages. It was nicknamed the "Downton Abbey law" because it addressed the same issue that affects Lady Mary Crawley, who cannot inherit the estate because it must pass to a male heir.

The decor used on Downton Abbey inspired US Congressman Aaron Schock to redecorate his congressional offices in a more luxurious style. He repaid the $40,000 cost of redecoration following scrutiny of his expenses and questions about his use of public money for personal benefit, and subsequently resigned in March 2015
Source: Wikipedia

Used for water or wine, silver ewers were commonly present in dining rooms from the early Georgian through the Victorian period. However, they were slowly replaced with simpler glass decanters or bottle service by the early part of the 20th century. The one in my collection is in the Regency style, but with Sheffield hallmarks that peg it to between 1900 and 1909.
For centuries in France and through the 1950s in classic and now cliché French restaurants everywhere, if there was a sommelier, he would likely be wearing a small silver cup on a chain – the tastevin. It’s believed that as far back as the 15th century, a group of cellar masters in Burgundy known as the ‘Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin’ developed the cup to sample wine in the cellar where it was dark, and then lit only by candles. The swirls and dimples in the shiny cup were designed to catch and reflect what light there was and make it easier to check the color and clarity of the wine.
Ultimately, a sip would determine if the wine was progressing well or was worthy of being served. Virtually all contemporary sommeliers use a clear wine glass to evaluate wine, but I like to think that somewhere in France there is a cellar master checking his wine with a beautiful silver cup, or an English butler is verifying the standard of the wine to be served.
Another recent purchase of mine is a classic Champagne bucket once used on a grand German ocean liner, the Hamburg America Line, which may have chilled Champagne for the rich and famous.  The English tended to preferred English liners, but German liners lured passengers with very high standards of luxury.
HAPAG Champagne Bucket - © Richard Arebaldo
top and below, HAPAG Champagne Bucket - © Richard Arebaldo
HAPAG Champagne Bucket - © Richard Arebaldo
The bucket was produced by the Gebrüder Hepp Metalwaren Factory, which was founded in 1863 in Germany. It produced silver-plated cutlery and table utensils for many renowned German hotels of the period, and even the German Reichstag (Parliament) in 1927. Though its hallmarks do not reveal a specific date, it is identical to Champagne buckets used in hotels and ocean liners throughout Europe in the 1920s and 30’s.
While frequently polishing this bucket and icing down bottles of Champagne, I like to imagine the many celebrations at which it may have been present. 
Overall, my favorite objects embody great stories; the best of them tend to evoke stories of food and wine from long ago.  And, as a rule, I try to buy items that I can actually use in everyday life because I enjoy adding a bit of history to get-togethers, dinners, or sometimes even to a cup of tea.  With the exception of the Champagne bucket, the ewer and tastevin are not seen much anymore in modern dining rooms and restaurants.  I like to think that using them on occasion keeps their spirit alive.

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