A wine cooler once owned by George Washington brought nearly $800,000 at Christie’s Important Silver sale Thursday, topping the high estimate of $600,000.

According to Christies this four-bottle wine cooler is an exceptionally well documented historical object, symbolizing the famous partnership between Washington and Hamilton in the early days of the republic. Never before seen by the public, it is was consigned by direct descendants of Alexander Hamilton.

The choice of Sheffield-plated silver, a layered combination of silver and copper, instead of solid silver, emphasizes the founding fathers’ preference for austerity.

Washington’s fastidious attention to detail is demonstrated in his letter to Morris where he specifies the design of the cooler, “with an allowance in the depth of it for ice at bottom so as to raise the neck of the decanter above the cooler…The reason why I prefer an aperture for every decanter or bottle to coolers that would contain two and four is that whether full or empty the bottles will always stand upright and never be at variance with each other.”

An inventory written by Washington when his presidential term was through describes the silverware bought by him and by the Federal government. Of the four coolers that he purchased, Washington took two to Mount Vernon, sold one, and he presented the fourth to Hamilton, underscoring the importance to Washington of their 22-year relationship.

The letter that Washington sent to Hamilton with the wine cooler was engraved on the object by Hamilton’s descendants in the mid-19th Century, thereby insuring that its remarkable history would never be lost.

The inscription reads, “My dear Sir, Not for any intrinsic value the thing possesses, but as a token of my sincere regard and friendship for you, and as a remembrance of me, I pray you to accept a wine cooler for four bottles. It is one of four which I imported in the early part of my late administration of the Government, two of which were ever used. I pray you to present my best wishes, in which Mrs. Washington joins me to Mrs. Hamilton, and the family, and that you would be persuaded that with everysentiment of the highest regard, I remain your sincere friend, and affectionate humble servant: Geo. Washington.”

Also at the sale an iron, gold and hardstone matchsafe for the Paris exposition of 1889 estimated at $10,000 to $15,000 brought $146,500. Designed by Paulding Farnham, and made by Tiffany & Co. the matchsafe is in the form of a stylized raven’s head.