Monteith (wineglass cooling bowl)
A monteith is a large bowl used to cool wineglasses in cold or iced water. Notches around its rim support inverted glasses by their feet, allowing the bowls to hang in the water. The form was popular in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
More than one material
Corning Museum of Glass describes monteiths as usually silver, but sometimes glass. The Fitzwilliam Museum holds a tin-glazed earthenware example, dated about 1740 to 1750 and probably made in Lambeth. The term therefore identifies function and form rather than a single material or workshop.
Distinguishing an ordinary bowl
The arrangement around the rim is central. A scalloped serving bowl is not, however, sufficient evidence of a monteith function. Examine notch shape, dimensions and documented comparison pieces. Record material, any marks, damage and repairs separately. The museum date of a comparison object does not automatically date a similar bowl.
