Tapio Wirkkala 2508 ‘Ring-Neck’ Bottle w/ Drinking Glass

A ‘Rengaskaula’ (Ring-Neck) bottle, or carafe, designed in 1959 by Tapio Wirkkala for Iittala, Finland.

With its rounded body, gently sloping shoulders and applied ring of glass around the neck, the design appears to draw upon the familiar form of an antique bottle. This association is strengthened by the olive-green glass and deeply punted base, a feature traditionally associated with wine bottles. Wirkkala refines these familiar elements into a beautifully balanced form that feels at once archaic and distinctly modern.

Accompanying the bottle is Wirkkala's model 2008 wine glass, designed in the same year and in matching olive-green glass. The glass has a beautifully simple stepped form, with a broad cylindrical bowl above a narrow base. When inverted, the glass fits neatly over the mouth of the bottle, allowing it to act as a stopper. This brings the two separate forms together as a single design, while allowing the bottle to function perfectly as a carafe.

The 2508 bottle and 2008 wine glass were designed and produced alongside one another in matching colours, forming a brilliant example of Wirkkala's functional glassware for Iittala.

Although conceived as a carafe, the piece is highly decorative and works equally well as a vase. It is particularly successful when paired with the taller model 2507.