Wine taster
Also known as a tasse à vin, a tâte-vin, or a tastevin, a wine taster was used by a wine merchant to assess the quality, clarity, and color of wine. The reflective properties, resistance to corrosion, and the fact that it would not taint the wine in any way, made silver the ideal material for a winetaster. Shallow in form, these bowls frequently have a convex bottom and are provided with a single ring handle and or thumbpiece. The polished surface, either left smooth or embellished with gadrooning and other decorations, would catch the light and reflect it throughout the wine so that it could be checked for impurities. Holding just a small amount of wine, silver wine tasters are often personalized with initials, names, and dates or coats-of-arms.
The bowl’s interior is engraved with a scene of the bishop St. Julien blessing a kneeling figure, presumably a reference to the likely owner of the wine taster whose name, JULLIEN GOAU DE ST. JULIEN LAVALE, is inscribed on the on the outside rim. A fishing scene together with the phrase which can be translated as “Come pass over the water with your bait: you will catch your fish” are engraved on the underside of the bowl. The stylized serpent shaped handle refers to Dionysus the god of wine.
Daughter of one of the founders of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, Catherine D. Wentworth (1865–1948) was an art student and painter who lived in France for thirty years. She became one of the most important American collectors of eighteenth-century French silver and on her death in 1948 bequeathed part of her significant collection of silver, gold boxes, French furniture and textiles to the Metropolitan Museum. The collection is particularly strong in domestic silver, much of it provincial, including this wine taster created in Orléans.
The bowl’s interior is engraved with a scene of the bishop St. Julien blessing a kneeling figure, presumably a reference to the likely owner of the wine taster whose name, JULLIEN GOAU DE ST. JULIEN LAVALE, is inscribed on the on the outside rim. A fishing scene together with the phrase which can be translated as “Come pass over the water with your bait: you will catch your fish” are engraved on the underside of the bowl. The stylized serpent shaped handle refers to Dionysus the god of wine.
Daughter of one of the founders of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, Catherine D. Wentworth (1865–1948) was an art student and painter who lived in France for thirty years. She became one of the most important American collectors of eighteenth-century French silver and on her death in 1948 bequeathed part of her significant collection of silver, gold boxes, French furniture and textiles to the Metropolitan Museum. The collection is particularly strong in domestic silver, much of it provincial, including this wine taster created in Orléans.
Artwork Details
- Title: Wine taster
- Maker: Pierre IX Hanappier (master 1730, active 1775)
- Date: 1768–70
- Culture: French, Orléans
- Medium: Silver
- Dimensions: Overall: 1 × 3 1/8 in. (2.5 × 7.9 cm)
- Classification: Metalwork-Silver
- Credit Line: Bequest of Catherine D. Wentworth, 1948
- Object Number: 48.187.151
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Pierre IX Hanappier
1772–74
Jacques Hanappier
1758–60
P. B., Orleans
1780–82
Glasshouse of Bernard Perrot, Verrerie Royale d'Orléans
1726
Glasshouse of Bernard Perrot, Verrerie Royale d'Orléans
18th century
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.