Its dimpled, fluted bowl isn’t decorative flourish so much as function: the raised bumps and ridges were designed to catch candlelight and refract it through the wine, letting a taster judge color and clarity by lamplight alone, long before electric bulbs made the trick unnecessary. The silver plate has tarnished beautifully with age — smoky, variegated, the way only real age can produce — a patina no reproduction could fake.

At home, it’s lovely propped on a bar cart or bookshelf, holding a few corks or simply sitting as a small, storied object of contemplation. For the collector or wine lover in your life, it’s a conversation piece with real provenance.