Bottle Dryer

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A circular metal rack with spokes facing upwards.

Artist Marcel Duchamp (French, 1887–1968)

Title Bottle Dryer (Porte-Bouteilles or Séchoir à bouteilles)

Date 1964 edition (after 1914 original)

Medium Galvanized iron

Dimensions Overall: 23 1/4 x 14 1/2 in. (59.1 x 36.8 cm)

Credit Line Partial gift of Mrs. William H. Conroy, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 71.37.3

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About this Work

The bottle dryer was a common object in French kitchens of the early twentieth century. Its metal spikes were used to dry wine bottles before they were reused. Duchamp was likely attracted to the object’s erotic overtones, as well as to its resemblance to the Eiffel Tower’s metal structure. He made no alterations to the bottle dryer aside from his signature.

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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Bottle Dryer | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=71.37.3