Food service: Wine bottle cooler, belonging to P. T. Barnum
1810 – 1845 (Date manufactured/created)
Decorative Arts
Wine bottle cooler made of white porcelain decorated with bands of gold, and featuring a curled handle on each side. This is one of four in the dinner service owned by P. T Barnum that is now in the Museum's collection, and likely there were more in the complete set. The cooler's shape is like a pot or an oversized cup, and is smaller than the typical modern wine bottle cooler.
The form and handle shape of this one matches other examples of wine bottle coolers that were made in France in the 1700s and early 1800s. This dinner service was acquired by P. T. Barnum at an estate auction in Paris about 1846. Darte Freres (Darte Brothers) of Paris produced the custom-decorated dinner service, possibly in the first or second decade of the 1800s, and not later than 1845. Darte Freres designed and made porcelain items of extraordinary beauty and quality, pieces that only the wealthiest patrons and royalty could afford to commission or purchase. The interior of the cooler is all white, except for a narrow band of gold around the rim.
The family crest featured on the object originally belonged to a Russian prince. The crest was adopted by P.T. Barnum when he purchased items in Paris, France, in 1845 at a sale of the man's belongings following his death. In his autobiography, Barnum explains that items with the crest were priced solely on the value of the silver and gold they contained, since the crest was not a desirable feature to wealthy buyers who had their own family crests. Other items such as a large set of dinnerware featuring the crest on each piece seemed of little interest to buyers, but caught his attention in part because the prince's initials were "P" and "T". Thus he only needed to add a "B" to make them his. Barnum never stated the name of the late Russian prince.
Examination of the Russian Empire Roll of Arms, published in 1797 shows that the crest belonged to the Тюфякин family, which can be rendered in the Roman alphabet as Tioufiakin or Tyufyakin, who held the noble rank of "prince" - the highest rank one could have without being a member of the royal family. The last member of the family to hold use the crest was Пётр Иванович, Peter Ivanovich (1769-1845), who spent the last two decades of his life living in Paris opposite the opera house. Prior to that,Tyufyakin was noted for helping to reinvigorate the Imperial Theatres in Russia, making them profitable, and even inviting Western actors to perform in Moscow. He died in February of 1845 with no heirs. In Paris, he was noted for giving grand balls, where doubtless the fine china that Barnum purchased was used. It is worth noting that the eagle and the solider in the crest are switched in earlier versions of the family crest. It is unclear when the version painted on the china came into use. It is also unclear how Barnum's three initials were applied to the china, since they are perfectly centered, and that would not be the case if he was adding the "B" to "P T".
Barnum continued to use the items he acquired throughout his life, as portions of the sets can be seen in photographs of the dining room in his last home, Marina, which was built in 1888-1889.
The form and handle shape of this one matches other examples of wine bottle coolers that were made in France in the 1700s and early 1800s. This dinner service was acquired by P. T. Barnum at an estate auction in Paris about 1846. Darte Freres (Darte Brothers) of Paris produced the custom-decorated dinner service, possibly in the first or second decade of the 1800s, and not later than 1845. Darte Freres designed and made porcelain items of extraordinary beauty and quality, pieces that only the wealthiest patrons and royalty could afford to commission or purchase. The interior of the cooler is all white, except for a narrow band of gold around the rim.
The family crest featured on the object originally belonged to a Russian prince. The crest was adopted by P.T. Barnum when he purchased items in Paris, France, in 1845 at a sale of the man's belongings following his death. In his autobiography, Barnum explains that items with the crest were priced solely on the value of the silver and gold they contained, since the crest was not a desirable feature to wealthy buyers who had their own family crests. Other items such as a large set of dinnerware featuring the crest on each piece seemed of little interest to buyers, but caught his attention in part because the prince's initials were "P" and "T". Thus he only needed to add a "B" to make them his. Barnum never stated the name of the late Russian prince.
Examination of the Russian Empire Roll of Arms, published in 1797 shows that the crest belonged to the Тюфякин family, which can be rendered in the Roman alphabet as Tioufiakin or Tyufyakin, who held the noble rank of "prince" - the highest rank one could have without being a member of the royal family. The last member of the family to hold use the crest was Пётр Иванович, Peter Ivanovich (1769-1845), who spent the last two decades of his life living in Paris opposite the opera house. Prior to that,Tyufyakin was noted for helping to reinvigorate the Imperial Theatres in Russia, making them profitable, and even inviting Western actors to perform in Moscow. He died in February of 1845 with no heirs. In Paris, he was noted for giving grand balls, where doubtless the fine china that Barnum purchased was used. It is worth noting that the eagle and the solider in the crest are switched in earlier versions of the family crest. It is unclear when the version painted on the china came into use. It is also unclear how Barnum's three initials were applied to the china, since they are perfectly centered, and that would not be the case if he was adding the "B" to "P T".
Barnum continued to use the items he acquired throughout his life, as portions of the sets can be seen in photographs of the dining room in his last home, Marina, which was built in 1888-1889.
2007.002.042.006