Erik Höglund Bottle w. 'Horse' Seal

A tall hand-blown clear glass bottle with a large seal stamped with a horse, designed by Erik Höglund, for Boda, Sweden, circa 1958.

The image of the neighing horse as well as the bottle’s wide silhouette are quintessential of Höglund’s work. Both show the inspiration he took from the essential forms to be found within rustic & ancient artifacts. We also feel obliged to mention Höglund’s candid depiction of the virile horse’s happy disposition. Again, this is a nod to antiquity, specifically the rich subject of the ithyphallic figure. Höglund must have been fascinated by the history of the phallus in material culture as it is a subject he often referenced in his work.

It's not only the honest shape & seal of the bottle, but also the techniques involved in its production, which relate to antique bottles. Namely, the bottle has been made using the half-post method. This is a practice of bottle making where the gather is slightly expanded then dipped again into the glass pot to apply a second layer of glass over the initial gather. As you can see, the second layer of glass covers the base & body of the first gather and ends on the shoulder, which is the typical ending point on historic types.