A rare Russian porcelain two-handled verrière (wine glass cooler), Miklashevsky Manufactory, Volokitino, circa 1839-1861. The sides painted with sprays of polychrome flowers & fruits within gilt bands. Dimensions: 5 in. h x 12 1/2 in. w x 7 3/4 in. d (12.7 x 31.8 x 19.7 cm).
Verrières, often called monteiths in British sources & riumochnaia peredacha in Russian, were filled with ice or cold water & were used to cool wine glasses & wine bottles before the days of refrigeration. Nathan Bailey, in the 1721 edition of his Household Dictionary, defined the monteith as”a scallopt bason to cool glasses in.”