AN IRISH GEORGE II MAHOGANY DECANTER STAND

Described in the Dictionary of English Furniture as a 'wine waiter', this form of bottle carrier was intended to contain bottles or decanters and was used in a dining room. They were fitted with castors to allow circulation amongst guests. The Knight of Glin and James Peill illustrate several Irish decanter stands from this period and note that the numbers that survive give an indication of the alcoholic consumption of the Irish aristocracy and gentry at the time - a fact supported by the figures in the official Bordeaux records which, between 1739 and 1740, note that Ireland imported 4,000 tuns of fine wine compared to England's 1,000 tuns and Scotland's 2,500 tuns (The Knight of Glin & J. Peill, Irish Furniture, New Haven and London, 2008, p. 116, cat. no. 154 and p. 246, cat. nos. 176, 178 & 179).