A carved oak wine pourer, 19th century

For an identical cradle wine pourer see: Edward H. Pinto, Treen and other wooden bygones, G. Bell & sons, London, 1969, illus. 52.  

Pinto writes:  The true Georgian bottle pourer is formed as a bottle cradle built up on a ramp, with a hinge or pivot at the top and some form of ratchet, to enable the tilt of the bottle to be adjusted as it empties. Judging by the few survivals, bottle pourers were individually designed and made in small quantities, intended for the wealthy connoisseur. They are found both in silver and mahogany...An elaborately carved mahogany specimen Plate 52 is shown raised on its ratchet. Its platform on 'bun' feet with insert leather pads,  measures 16in by 6in; it is a weighty object, being made of the so-called Spanish mahogany...the cradle itself, hollowed from a solid mahogany block is carved with grapes and vine leaf trails, with the mask of a jovial horned bearded Bacchus below the spout; the curve of the handle is both functional and graceful. In its bold outline, general exuberance and the carved motifs used, it fits in equally well with 1730-40 or 1800-1810