Antique of the month
Continuing her column celebrating collectibles, antiques expert Judith Miller charts the alluring history of scent bottles
Until the 19th century, the design of perfume bottles was very much governed by the nature of scent itself. Since scent is very volatile, the bottles had to be airtight and impervious to light, and since scent was very costly, the bottles were made to reflect this. Until the end of the 19th century, perfume was sold to be mixed and decanted into scent bottles. However, by the 1900s, perfume and fashion houses began to sell bottles filled with their own scent, making decanting unnecessary. Liquid perfume dates from around the mid-17th century. At this time, glass was considered unworthy to hold the very expensive perfumes, so precious metals and hardstones were used. Glass was not used until the end of the 18th century, reaching its heyday in the Victorian period. Of note are British double-ended scent bottles, a combination of scent bottle at one end and a smelling-salt bottle or vinaigrette at the other. Vinaigrettes were tiny hinged boxes that opened to reveal a perfume-soaked sponge used to combat offensive odours. The earliest vinaigrettes were usually rectangular, with a small ring attached so it could be worn on a necklace or chatelaine. By the early 1800s, they had grown in size (up to 4cm) and became elaborately decorated.
In the 18th century, perfume bottles were often made of coloured faceted glass; the caps at each end were of silver, silver gilt, or even brass. While these bottles were mass-produced, all pockets were catered for, and some of the most expensive are set with coral or turquoise and have silver cagework overlay. Novelty shapes are unusual, but double-ended bottles shaped as horns are popular today, as are cameo glass scent bottles.
Other materials included porcelain, the most desirable produced at Meissen in Germany, and at the British factories of Chelsea, Coalport, Derby, Worcester and Wedgwood. Gold and silver were used in the 16th and 17th centuries before being largely supplanted by glass, but did enjoy a small renaissance in late-victorian Britain.