Period Wine Cellarette
A period wine cellarette is a substantial timber vessel built to keep bottles cool, bringing classic proportions and rich mahogany to a formal dining room.
Period Wine Cellarette
When you search for a period wine cellarette, you encounter large timber containers designed to hold wine bottles near the dining table. The pieces found here span the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, taking forms such as sarcophagi, octagonal boxes, and oval vessels on stands.
Mahogany predominates, often matched with flame veneers, satinwood, or pollard oak to create formal surfaces. Many examples retain interior lead or zinc linings originally intended to hold ice alongside the bottles.
The styles bridge Georgian and Regency eras, reflecting changing tastes from strict classical lines to heavier sarcophagus shapes with brass paw feet.
Distinguishing quality
Proportion and decorative restraint set apart the better workshops, where brass inlay, reeded mouldings, and carved paw feet integrate harmoniously with the primary box shape.
Period Wine Cellarette Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for period wine cellarette among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
Some nineteenth-century wine coolers came fitted with heavy cast brass paw feet so guests could shove them across the dining room floor.
Gillows
The Period Wine Cellarette Glossary
- Sarcophagus
- A monumental tomb-like shape with a steep lid, popular during the Regency period for large wine coolers. This form often rests upon carved paw feet.
- Flame mahogany
- A veneer cut from the fork of the mahogany tree, creating a distinctive rippling flame pattern across the surface. It was favoured by master cabinet makers for principal display panels.
- Ormolu
- Gilt bronze mounted onto furniture as decorative enrichment. It provides a sharp contrast against dark tropical hardwoods.
- Padouk
- A dense reddish-brown tropical hardwood utilised in Regency Anglo Indian pieces. It yields crisp carved details and high natural polish.
- Jardiniere
- A decorative stand or vessel intended to hold potted plants. Many open wine cooler designs served this dual purpose in nineteenth-century interiors.
Period Wine Cellarette: Frequently Asked Questions
What is a period wine cellarette used for?
These vessels held wine bottles and ice close to the dining table during formal meals in large houses.
Today, they serve as striking side tables or storage boxes in traditional and contemporary interiors alike.
How do I tell a Georgian cellarette from a Regency one?
Georgian examples often feature simpler rectangular or octagonal box shapes, sometimes mounted on separate stands with straight legs.
Regency pieces tend toward heavy sarcophagus forms with bold brass paw feet, classical handles, and richer veneer patterns.
Do original lead liners matter?
Original lead or zinc liners confirm the piece retained its functional integrity as a cooler rather than a general box.
Many survive intact, showing the solder seams and patination expected from contact with ice over two centuries.
Can I use an open wine cooler as a plant stand?
Open wine coolers and jardiniere stands were frequently built with waterproof metal liners specifically to hold potted plants.
Their sturdy timber construction accommodates interior foliage arrangements well.