• Date: 1820-1840
• Manufacturing technique: translucent green glass, blow-and-turn process
• Dimensions: H : 29,9 ; Ø max : 10
• Collection: Coll. Ecomusée de l’Avesnois
• Credit: © Lucie Nicolas / Ecomusée de l’Avesnois
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A major development in the history of the modern bottle was the invention of the ‘strong’ bottle for champagne wines. In addition to the constraints affecting all bottles, the design of the champagne bottle had also to be strong enough to withstand the great pressures created by the sparkling wine. The thickness of the glass was increased. Its shape, which resembles the Burgundy wine bottle, underwent numerous trials and was greatly influenced by Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin. Between 1800 and 1850, no fewer than 700 letters were sent to her suppliers (the glassworks of Anor, Quiquengrogne, and Trélon), demonstrating her attention to detail in the pursuit of satisfying her customers. ‘I didn’t want their shape to resemble the village bells of your region,’ she wrote to the Darche Glassworks in Hautmont.
