Cleveland Museum of Art

Decanter Stand

Paul Storr

Date

1814

Medium

silver

Culture

England, London, 19th century

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Decanter stands served as coasters for glass wine bottles in order to protect the extremely expensive and fragile linen tablecloths they sat upon. This example contains depictions of large grape vines and youthful figures that evoke the Roman god of wine, Bacchus (or Dionysus in Greek mythology). One of the young boys grasps an empty drinking vessel while the other leans against a panther, the frequent companion of Bacchus. Bacchanal motifs of grapes and consumption echo this object’s function as a stand for a wine decanter.

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