Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 1DL Tel: 01449 612229 www.eastanglianlife.org.uk

Objects(s): Brandy Keg Object Number(s): STMEA:82.A.33.1 Researcher details: Richard Hall, Volunteer

Brandy Keg

This item in our collection is a brandy keg, in the shape of a small barrel, which would most likely have been used in a public house for storing and preserving brandy before serving to customers.

The keg is earth brown in colour and decorated with three imitation iron hoops. It is adorned with figures of huntsmen with their dogs. The front of the keg is adorned with a royal crest and two lions ‘Recumbent’1, above which is written the word “Brandy”. It would have been filled in the top and stoppered with a cork. The brandy would normally be dispensed through a Fawcett (small tap) screwed into the front of the keg. From the dimensions, I have estimated that the keg would have a filled a standard capacity of approximately two gallons, which is just over nine litres, although there is no marking on the jar to confirm its true capacity.

Stoneware kegs were popular in the 19th century for storage of wines and spirits before glass bottle manufacture was of a sufficiently consistent standard to replace them2. This object is one of several stoneware containers for alcohol in our collection (See also STMEA:A.174 and STMEA:A.954). glazed stoneware

The object in our collection has no makers marks or name, which makes it difficult to trace or date with any accuracy. However, such was the popularity of stoneware kegs for transporting and storing beer, wine, and spirits, that there were several manufacturing them in 19th century. Our example is brown in colour, which means that it is probably manufactured using a process known as ‘Salt-Glaze’3. Salt glazing is a fairly simple process, which may have discovered by accident. As part of the firing process, salt is added into the , which under high temperature, reacts with the silica in the to form a glassy coating of silicate to the surface of the pot. Salt glazing is a process no longer used by large scale manufacturers of . Its demise appears to have been precipitated by the air pollution caused during the process.

The salt glazing process is believed to have originate in Germany during the 15th century. It is believed that the process may have been brought to by immigrant potters. The earliest evidence of salt glaze stoneware in England has been dated to the latter half of the 17th century in

1 A GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN HERALDRY by JAMES PARKER [Internet]. Heraldsnet.org. 2021 [cited 15 February 2021]. Available from: https://www.heraldsnet.org/saitou/parker/Jpglossr.htm 2 Malin J. The 8,000 Year Effort To Transport Wine Around The World [Internet]. Vinepair Blog. 2021 [cited 15 February 2021]. Available from: https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/history-wine-transport-8000-years/ 3 Salt glaze pottery [Internet]. En.wikipedia.org. 2021 [cited 15 February 2021]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_glaze_pottery Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 1DL Tel: 01449 612229 www.eastanglianlife.org.uk

Woolwich, . The similarity with German products, is what gives rise to the suggestion of immigrant potters working in England at that time.

By the early 19th century, the Doulton and Watts, later to become known as , were producing salt glazed ware at their site in Lambeth, London. Doulton and Watts, were arguably the most well-known and prolific manufacturers of salt glazed wares during the 19th century, exhibiting many their products at the Great Exhibition of 18514.

Doulton and Watts were not the only potteries manufacturing salt glazed stoneware products around that time. Other noted potters in and around London were James Stiff and Sons of Lambeth5, who, alongside salt glazed stoneware jugs and containers, also produced terra cotta pipes for chimneys. Another firm producing similar products was known as, Stephen Green, Imperial Potteries6. Although, as they ceased production of stoneware in 1858; I think it unlikely that they produced our brandy keg. I think therefore, that Doulton and Watts are most likely firm to have produced our keg. Decoration

Our keg is rather ornately decorated with a royal crest, lions, and hunting scenes. Each design was made from moulded clay and applied to the keg, with the edges smoothed out before firing. This is a technique known as ‘’7and creates a consistent pattern to each product produced. The effect produced after firing, is remarkably similar to the Repoussé technique, used in metalwork to carefully beat a raised pattern or design into the sheet metal object.

Several potteries practiced this technique in the 19th century because it was a cost effective, efficient way of obtaining a consistent design on a large scale, without the need to employ hand painting techniques. It also allowed potters to differentiate utilitarian, everyday objects from finer table wares.

Did Doulton and Watts also practice Sprigging on their products? The answer to this question is a resounding yes, because there is clear evidence of it from some of the pottery they produced, with popular hunting scenes very similar to those on our keg. Mernick8, who has researched early Doulton and Watts pottery jugs describes the use of the sprigging technique by Doulton and Watts on several of their products. Interestingly, Merrick also describes how difficult it can be to make this

4 Perry M. Royal Doulton [Internet]. Pottery Histories. 2021 [cited 15 February 2021]. Available from: http://www.potteryhistories.com/doultonhistory.html 5 James Stiff and Sons - Graces Guide [Internet]. Gracesguide.co.uk. 2021 [cited 15 February 2021]. Available from: https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/James_Stiff_and_Sons 6 Collections Online | British Museum [Internet]. Britishmuseum.org. 2021 [cited 15 February 2021]. Available from: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG79459 7 Sprigging (pottery) [Internet]. En.wikipedia.org. 2021 [cited 16 February 2021]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprigging_(pottery) 8 2. Mernick P. Brown Jugs [Internet]. Early Doulton. 2020 [cited 16 February 2021]. Available from: http://www.mernick.org.uk/brownjugs/Doulton/EarlyDoulton.htm Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 1DL Tel: 01449 612229 www.eastanglianlife.org.uk

association with complete certainty because Doulton and Watts did not stamp their products with their name as manufacturers. The same situation applies to our brandy keg.

The use of the Royal crest seems of be common on spirit vessels, whomsoever made them. I have been unable to establish any link between the crest and excise duties, as might be assumed. Therefore, I can only conclude that the use of the royal crest was intended to be a patriotic gesture. Brandy

Brandy, which takes its name from the Dutch for ‘burned wine’, is normally consumed as a digestive after meals; is a liquor which is usually made from distilling wine, although brandy can also be made from distilled fruit including apples, berries, and cherries too9. The distillation process ensures that the alcoholic content of brandy is significantly higher than that of the wine it is distilled from. Brandy is usually aged in wooden casks. A process which helps to provide its rich, amber colour and unique flavour. To maintain its colour, brandy must be stored away from direct sunlight, which is why our stoneware brandy keg would have been ideal.

The period of aging can be anything between 2 to ten years, although some brandies are aged for even longer. Each ageing is denoted by labelling on the bottle. For example, French Cognac and Armagnac Brandy’s are labelled V.S to Hors d’âge.

It has been suggested that the warmth felt when drinking brandy has a beneficial and restorative effect. Legend has it that St Bernard dogs, at one time used to help locate mountaineers and skiers lost in the snow, were equipped with a small barrel of brandy around their necks, to provide a warming drink to those they located. Nobody knows where this tale originated, although Curtis10 suggests, it may have originated in an artist’s studio in England. The artist, Sir Edwin Landseer, famously created a painting entitled ‘Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveller’ in 1820 (Image 1), which was sold in 2017 by Christies of London for over £600,00011.

9 Brandy [Internet]. En.wikipedia.org. 2021 [cited 16 February 2021]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandy 10 Curtis W. The Myth of the St. Bernard & the Brandy Barrel [Internet]. Daily Beast. 2019 [cited 16 February 2021]. Available from: http://The Myth of the St. Bernard & the Brandy Barrel 11 5. Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, R.A. (London, 1802-1873) [Internet]. Christies.com. 2021 [cited 16 February 2021]. Available from: https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6117533 Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 1DL Tel: 01449 612229 www.eastanglianlife.org.uk

Image 1 - Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveller (1820) by Sir Edwin Landseer.12

Alas, there was never any evidence to substantiate Landseer’s painting although, Blumberg13 tells us that St Bernard dogs were used throughout the 19th century to help to locate stranded travellers in the snow.

Nevertheless, I think I would be incredibly happy to see a rescue dog arriving (with or without a restorative barrel) if ever I were lost in the snow!

12 Landseer E. Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveller (1820) by Sir Edwin Landseer [Internet]. 2021 [cited 16 February 2021]. Available from: By Edwin Henry Landseer - http://2.bp.blogspot.com/- _WaV6zUHSDc/VIRFcyxiDpI/AAAAAAAANII/sE02u8Zo6nc/s1600/CC-Nothing-new-under-the-sun.Avalanche- dogs03.L-andseer-Alpine-Mastiffs-reanimating.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66159162 13 Blumberg J. A Brief History of the St. Bernard Rescue Dog [Internet]. Smithsonian Magazine - Travel. 2016 [cited 16 February 2021]. Available from: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/a-brief-history-of-the-st- bernard-rescue-dog-13787665/