Scent bottle is a real catch

Q. My great-uncle, born in 1874, was the keeper of this bottle, which he kept in a curio cabinet in my childhood. It might have belonged to another relative who worked in the china department of Woolworths from 19101930. Is it possible that such an item would be sold at Woolworths? My uncle also inherited items from a friend who was a scholar at the University of Leipzig, c. 1898. My wife and I would be interested in learning anything you can tell us about this attractive object. Harold, Kitchener

A. Your attractive figural fish scent bottle is very rare. It is hand-blown green cased glass which has an inner white layer, a middle vibrant green layer and an outer clear layer harbouring

the applied gilt enamel. The tail is shaped and moulded when the glass is molten with a hand tool. The eye is an applied red cabochon set in white enamel. The sterling silver cap was made by the firm of George Edwin Walton & Co. Ltd. in 1881-82 at Hylton Street, Birmingham. It harbours a cork that seals when screwed on. As the bottle can only lay on its side the cork was kept moist, causing it to swell and keeping it sealed. These figural scent bottles are usually attributed to Thomas Webb & Sons — one of the most successful glass companies of England operating in the Stourbridge area close to Birmingham. These virtually never come on the market and at auction it will probably swim to $2,500 or more.