Description

Brass bound coromandel decanter box with decorative brass inlay to the top & front, engraved with entwined initials of DL. The interior
is lined with blue leather cushioning, protecting the two lead crystal decanters with faceted stoppers and star cut bases. The box has a single spirit glass housed within the underside of the lid, protected with matching blue velvet. The box is fitted with a Bramah lock and has
its original Bramah key. Although not marked we attribute this to Thornhill of New Bond Street, London.

Coromandel is a valuable wood found in India, Sri Lanka and South East Asia. It has a contrasting hazel-brown colour with black grain. It is a dense, heavy wood that is so popular it has been logged to extinction over the last few hundred years.

This makes Coromandel pieces even more special.

The Tantalus is named after Tantalos, a character from Greek Mythology who offended the Gods and was condemned to eternal hunger and thirst in the afterlife. He was imprisoned in a pool of water surrounded by fruit trees. When he reached out to drink the water or eat the fruit, the water drained away and the branches of the trees moved out of his reach! It is from Tantalos’s punishment that the word tantalise originates.

Tantalus is a decorative stand, case or box for glass or cut glass decanters. The first lockable Tantalus appeared around the mid 19th Century and was first seen in England around 1870. The decanted alcohol can only be accessed by unlocking and raising or lowering a handle or bar. The Tantalus was popular with owners of large, grand houses of this period to protect the decanted alcohol from being drunk by their butlers & other staff. Therefore the alcohol was kept just out of reach to tantalise – just as in the story of Tantalus!

Our varied selection of Tantalus & Decanters make excellent corporate gifts, aswell as for special occasions such as a retirement or wedding. They also make a great focal and talking point at a Dinner Party, or simply to look handsome in a Dining or Drawing Room!

Created By:
WALTER THORNHILL, LONDON (worked c.1875-c.1912)

Additional information