Once the grand entrance to the Frelinghuysen Mansion, Hennessey Hall will be adorned with a number of exquisite decorative objects from the museum’s collections. Among the decorative objects on view in this upcoming installation are a pair of stoppered silver and glass bottles which have never been shown.

Recent research by the Exhibitions Department has uncovered interesting information about the bottles: they are believed to be a matched pair of claret bottles, a form unchanged through the nineteenth century. The real surprise was revealed through examination of the silver marks, some barely discernable. Fortunately, two of the most important marks, a lion rampant facing right and the letter “F” stamped in a particular form, indicate that the bottles are Dutch and made in 1865.