Bottle rack; Stockholm, Sweden, c. 1863.

Bottle rack; Stockholm, Sweden, c. 1863.
Silver plated metal.
Dated and located on the reverse.
Measurements: 44 x 30 x 22 cm.
Swedish bottle rack, made in Stockholm around 1863, is a magnificent example of the decorative arts of the 19th century, a period in which functional objects were also conceived as authentic works of art.
The piece takes the form of a nude male figure, clearly classically inspired, holding on his head a vegetal structure intended to house a bottle. The idealized anatomy, the balanced contrapposto and the serenity of the gesture refer directly to the models of Greco-Roman sculpture, reinterpreted from the historicist sensibility of the 19th century.
The carefully worked silver metal adds luminosity and reinforces the refined character of the object. The surface reflects the light softly, highlighting the volumes of the human body and the naturalistic details of the base and the vegetal elements that surround the bottle. This combination of human figure and plant ornament creates a harmonious dialogue between nature, art and function.
Beyond its practical utility, the bottle rack acts as a table centerpiece, designed to impress and generate conversation in the bourgeois salons of the time. In this context, the serving of wine became a social ritual charged with symbolism, where discreet luxury and aesthetic erudition went hand in hand.
From a symbolic reading, the figure can be interpreted as an allusion to the Dionysian world: wine, the ideal body and the refined celebration of pleasures, all filtered through the cultured and controlled taste of the 19th century. It is not about excess, but about balance between pleasure, beauty and functionality.