An Early/Mid 20thC French Wicker Champagne Carrier c.1930

Origin: French
Period: Mid 20thC
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1930-40
Height: 22.5” 
Width: 42”
Depth: 12.5”

The wonderfully substantial French champagne carrier, of unusually large rectangular form, the carrier being tightly hand-woven from heavy willow around a sturdy framework, with a particularly thick plaited rim and original central twisted carrying handle, the whole with narrow, deep proportions having been designed for the practical transportation of bottles, most likely between cellar, merchant and customer, showing the remnants of the original canvas reinforcement remaining around the upper edge, with traces of black painted markings to one end hinting at its working past to sledge rail concealed feet and surviving from the second quarter of the twentieth century.

The carrier survives in beautifully time-worn, unrestored condition. The willow has developed a superb dry, silvery-grey surface through decades of use, with expected knocks, losses and irregularities to the weave. There are old breaks and areas of wear together with deterioration and losses to the canvas edging, all entirely consistent with an object made for hard commercial service. Importantly, it remains remarkably sturdy and structurally sound for its age.

Large wicker bottle baskets of this type were once an essential part of the French wine and champagne trade, their robust but relatively lightweight construction making them ideal for moving quantities of bottles around cellars and during distribution. Champagne houses and wine merchants employed baskets and panniers in numerous forms, with surviving examples now increasingly appreciated as evocative pieces of French commercial and viticultural history.

A particularly decorative example, possessing exactly the untouched surface one hopes to find. Its monumental proportions and wonderful weathered wicker give it considerable presence beyond its original utilitarian purpose; equally good filled with logs, used for storage or simply left empty as a piece of sculptural French vernacular design.