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Form, Function, Neo-Classicism and Icon: ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
At 10:28 AM 8/29/97 -0400, Barry Dressel wrote: >I'm reading Thomas Pynchon's new novel "Mason and
Dixon" ; the two "Form, Function, Neo-Classicism and Icon: The Evolution and Meaning of the Heinz Ketchup Bottle." A synopsis: The shape of the Ketchup bottle is derived (ultimately) from Attic vase types of the fifth and sixth centuries B.C. Both the Alabastron and the Lekythos, for practical (functional) reasons, may have contributed to the shape of the long-necked Ketchup bottle. Both were used to hold precious liquids like perfume. Their restricted opening kept the entire contents from coming out at once. Unlike the Alabastron, the Lekythos had a long thin neck, so that, like the Ketchup bottle, the flow of liquid was modulated by the bubble of air that had to make its way through the fluid to the bottom end of the neck of the up-turned vessel.
Furthermore, as new methods of dispensing Ketchup have been developed (notably the plastic squeeze bottle), and as new giant-sized bottles have been introduced, the main characteristics of the original shape (no longer functional) have remained as reference points: the long neck and the fluted perimeter profile. These still work to identify these products with high quality and to promote brand identification and, in a curious way, serve to migrate several small elements of the Classical Tradition into modern times. There are some lessons for students of art history here. In the case of the Ketchup (or catsup) bottle, the shape is so closely allied to the product that without labels any American can easily identify the contents of any traditional catsup bottle. Shapes not only have functions, they have associations. Further, without labels, anyone can identify the Heinz bottle. As any student of the art history of Western culture knows, traditional iconography and traditional forms are closely wedded together, it is quite possible, in fact, that iconography and form are functions of each other. Robert Baron
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I don't know what consistency was given to the early Ketchup
sauce, but it seems clear to me that the shape of the bottle was
chosen only in part because it functioned to modulate the flow of
liquid. The classical allusion to container shapes
(especially the lekythos, which was seen abundantly on Greek
funerary art) was underscored by the Heinz company using a shape
which also alluded to fluted Doric columns. At that time
these classical allusions were of particular importance since
they tended to confer the notions of acceptability and quality to
the product. The identifiable vessel shape, combined with the
fluting, served to create an iconic shape for Heinz's Ketchup
which has been used subsequently to signal the connection of
other products to the original one, e.g. Heinz Chili Sauce (which
uses a wide necked shape).
