Antique champagne bucket. Metal, silver plating. Decorated with floristic ornament. The handles are made in the form of mascaron lions. Mappin & Webb. England, XX century.

A champagne bucket is an essential attribute of any celebration, holiday or feast. Today, this item, in addition to cooling the contents of the bottle, carries more aesthetic value. But before the beginning of the XIX century, it was almost impossible to drink champagne without using an ice bucket. The thing is that the favorite drink at all times at a temperature above 7 ° C became cloudy and bitter from the rising sediment. And it was only in 1816 that the widow Clicquot revealed to the world the technology of eliminating sediment at the fermentation stage. But despite this, the low temperature makes champagne more fragrant and pleasant at any time :)