A giant wine bottle

Very large bottles are usually almost spherical, and called 'carboys'  Very large format examples are seldom bottle-shape.

This bottle is hand blown and has a considerable amount of sediment attached to the inside.  The sediment is probably from wine that was kept in it.  At this point I feel like writing "sedimentary, my dear Watson", but any Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts will probably be quivvering with rage at my mis-quotation.

The bottle appears to hold about 11 litres or just short of 15 bottles and the bottle of claret I have imaged beside it is of standard full-bottle size.  It would make a substantial statement of style in any situation.

Wine bottles can be quite easy to date because they tend to follow a standard progression of design.  This bottle was made towards the end of hand-blown manufacturing days and a dating of about 1800 is probably secure.  The patent for mould-blown bottles was taken out by Henry Ricketts of Bristol in 1821

Date: c.1800

Dimensions: 19.7" 50 cm. high