The Flacon Tonnelet, created around 1934, was designed exclusively to hold the extrait of Sous le Vent. This perfume was said to be inspired by the lush vegetation and mingled scents of Guadeloupe, which Jacques Guerlain himself had visited. Its name, meaning “Southern Breeze,” alluded to the warm Caribbean trade winds carrying the fragrance of mimosa and other floral notes, blending into a soft, subtle, and complex perfume that reflected Guerlain’s ability to translate atmosphere into scent.
The bottle itself was strikingly unusual, described as having a form that suggested both Art Deco and Art Moderne influences, with a faintly Byzantine character. Shaped like a small keg or barrel, the flacon featured a two-tier cylindrical body, each tier marked with concave rings and concentric circles, giving it both structure and rhythm. The bottle was finished with a small, flat, disk-shaped ground glass stopper, maintaining the clean geometry of the design.
The decoration consisted of two distinct labels: a gold and black paper circle affixed to the top of the stopper, and bands of gold, yellow, and black paper encircling the projecting parts of the bottle. These labels were used interchangeably, whether the bottle was produced in crystal or glass. For presentation, the flacon was housed in a luxurious rectangular box, covered with striped silver-foiled and bright yellow paper. Inside, the bottle rested in a suede-textured cardboard interior, cut precisely to the shape of the tonnelet to hold it securely.
Production was entrusted to two major glassmakers: Baccarat, who created three moulds in crystal, and Pochet et du Courval, who likewise made three moulds in pressed glass. This collaboration ensured both high-quality luxury crystal editions and more widely available glass versions. The Tonnelet bottle remained in use until the late 1940s, after which Sous le Vent was rebottled either in the Flacon Rayonnant or the Quadrilobe stopper bottle, until the perfume itself was discontinued in 1972.
Sizes:
Acid-etched on the base.
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- Mould Ref. #773 = 80cc/80ml/2.7 oz - 8.6cm/3.39" (limited edition of only 5000 in 1937)
- Mould Ref. #773 = 128cc/128ml/4.33 oz - 12.5cm/4.92" (limited edition of only 3000 copies in 1937)
- Mould Ref. #773 = 250cc /250ml/8.4 oz- (limited edition of only 3000 copies in 1937)
Pochet et du Courval:
Engraved on the base: "Guerlain Made in France."
- Mould #15073 = 83cc - 6.8cm (1934)
- Mould #15109 = 125cc - 8.6cm (1935)
- Mould #15128 = 250cc - 12.5cm (1935)
Bottles:
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