A tall French wine tonneau - elongated stave profile, three rings of iron hoops, single bung-hole on the upper bilge. Period: multi-era, c. 1500 CE - 1900 CE.
The French tonneau (~900 L Bordeaux pattern) was the standard wine shipping cask of the early modern period - moving Bordeaux, Burgundy, and port wine across Europe and the Atlantic. Distinguished from the squat ale barrel by its taller profile.
Painting tips
- Staves: dark wine-stained oak, sepia wash in seams.
- Hoops: dark iron, rust at joints.
- Bung: pale wood plug.
- Wine stain at the bilge bung-hole; mud at the base.
Historical sources & further reading
- French cooperage records (Bordeaux trade)
- Atlantic wine-trade studies
⚠ Small parts. Not suitable for children under 14.





