Page 30 - Oct 3 & 4 Auction 2020

The Croome Court Shaft & Globes
Six sealed 17th century sealed bottles were discovered near the Croome Estate, Kinnersley, near Worcester in 2019 and fully reported in BBR 162.
With a possible pedigree of two Earls and a Baron they are most likely to have been made in one of Britain’s earliest and most important glasshouses. Dug up in a builder’s yard four of the bottle seals are missing - presumed deliberately removed before burial? Two, including the lot on the opposite page retain their seals and are clearly readable. Two similar seals are recorded lacking the coronet (see Burton, pages 1320/21), one is detached (Museum of London),
726. ENGLISH SEALED SHAFT & GLOBE WINE BOTTLE. 7.6ins tall, c.1665-70. This
the other is on a shaft & globe bottle of around 1650 found in Worcester. The addition of a coronet on the Croome hoard seals is a significant difference, signalling a member of the Peerage.
quite deliberately knocked off with a chisel? Even unsealed early Shaft & Globe forms
is a complete shaft and globe bottle but missing the actual body seal. The patina covering the
point where the seal once was suggests removal before being tossed away/ buried - some part
of a seal usually remains when damage or corrosion occurs but this appears to have been
are considerable rarities but the apparent seal removal here, and location of discovery/ Coventry/ Croome Court connection we
believe adds to their antiquarian interest. Additional images can be found on
easyliveauction.com. Apart from the magnificent gold iridescence covering
almost the entire form this item is complete with just a string rim area damaged, this is considered negligible/ acceptable on such an early surviving raity. Your last chance
to get one of the four unsealed bottles from this historic find. NR £1,500-
2,000+