Indulge me: I have to preface this with one of my favorite line deliveries in all of horror.
Jonathan Harker: Aren’t you drinking?
Dracula: I don’t drink… wine.
These “Strange Carafes” made by French designer Etienne Meneau are made of glass, but glass and clay are cousins and we couldn’t pass up something this cool in good conscience.
Meneau’s Carafes are almost purely sculptural and the kicker is that many of them take on the look of veins. When I was in Las Vegas once I paid too much money to see the Bodies exhibition. Out of that entire show the thing that stuck with me the most was the circulatory system hanging in a plexiglass case. It was a little worse for wear by that point, but the intricate branching paths kept my eyes busy for quite some time. Meneau’s carafes have a similar effect.
And now that I sound like a serial killer, let me say that this is a great idea for a wine vessel, both in terms of humor and for the sculptural presentation. You’d almost feel bad draining the carafe of all its vital fluid, though you could always refill and send it around the table again. Like the circulatory system in Bodies (whose was it, by the way?), I worry about the lifespan of these carafes. Alcohol and expensive glass art don’t mix
Some of the other carafes take on the look of organs while others are more geometric than biomorphic. They’re all limited edition runs and sell for about €2,500 or $2,764. Meneau’s creations have been making the rounds on social media, spread by freaks like ourselves, so who knows where the price will be in a few days. Get yours in time for Halloween, which is objectively the best holiday.
Bill Rodgers is the Managing Editor of cfile.daily.
Do you love or loathe these works of (not quite) contemporary ceramics? Let us know in the comments.
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