Walter Bosse Penguin Bottle Stopper

A delightful brass bottle stopper in the form of a penguin. This vintage object dates from the 1950's and was designed by Walter Bosse for Herta Baller, Austria.

Bosse's Modernist brass animal designs convey such a sense of character with their simplified streamlined forms, and no other animal is as naturally streamlined than a Penguin. Bosse revisited the bird on numerous occasions, designing many penguins of various shapes, sizes and uses. In this nuanced bottle stopper design, a young penguin perches on the very edge of the cork, as if he were about to jump off into an ocean. The penguin has wings slightly outstretched, beak pointing upwards to the sky. The eyes have been hammered post-casting and lend this object the sense of a lovingly handmade object. 

Walter Bosse trained as a figural ceramicist during the 1920's, but began experiments with metal casting from the late 1940's. His designs in metal were first produced by Herta Baller's workshop in the very early 1950's, and pieces from this period, such as this penguin, are particularly sought-after for their quality of design and manufacture.