Perfume Bottles

About Antique Perfume Bottles

Given the nature of perfume, from the confidence it gives its wearer to the indescribable effect it sometimes has on its very targeted audience, it’s not surprising that perfume has long been kept in bottles whose shapes seem to echo the mysterious properties of the fluids inside them. Whether it’s a slender phial, a tiny tear-shaped lachrymatory, or a round, flat-sided ampullae, perfume bottles are designed to contain magic, which is only unleashed when the bottle is opened and a drop or two of the precious liquid is discreetly applied.

Glassblowers in Britain, Bohemia, Germany, and France made perfume bottles throughout the 19th century. U.S. glass manufacturers such as the New England Glass Company and the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company also made perfume bottles during the 1800s. Some of these were hexagonal and opaque (white, blue, and green were common colors), with knobby, pineapple-shaped stoppers. Others were known gemel bottles, in which two flattened oval bottles were joined in the furnace, their necks pointing in opposite directions. Gemel bottles, especially standing ones in bright colors, are especially sought after...

For collectors, a sweet spot for antique perfume bottles is Art Nouveau. Beginning around 1890, artisans and glass factories alike produced elaborate cut or blown glass perfume bottles with ornate caps, some of which had hinged silver stoppers and collars. Purse-sized conical bottles with very short necks and round stoppers were often decorated with gilt flower-and-leaf patterns; manufacturers included Thomas Webb & Sons and Stevens & Williams Glass Company, both from Staffordshire, England.

The same companies also produced perfume bottles in cameo glass. Again, leaves and flowers were popular motifs, in colors that ranged from pink to purple to green, all of which were encased in white. In the United States, Steuben manufactured bulb-shaped perfume bottles using the company’s Verre de Soie technique, with glass threads wrapping the piece and matching the color of its iridescent base. Tiffany’s bottles included short, stumpy crystal cylinders with hob-nail bottoms and ornately engraved silver caps that covered the bottle’s crystal stopper.

In France, René Lalique was a giant when it came to small perfume bottles, which he produced in a series of ever-larger factories outside of Paris for François Coty and other perfume makers. Lalique brought his jeweler’s eye to perfume bottles—he even used a jewelry-casting process called cire perdue, also known as lost wax.

Unlike a lot of his contemporaries, Lalique did not add lead to his crystal. Instead, he preferred a demi-crystal because it was inexpensive, easy to work with, and imbued his perfume bottles with what became his trademark milky opalescence.

During Lalique’s collaboration with Coty, which lasted through the 1930s, he also made perfume bottles for d’Orsay and Roger et Gallet. One such bottle for Roger et Gallet was crowned by an elaborate tiara stopper, one of Lalique’s most copied designs. Another was an opaque green circular bottle with a bird on one side and the words "LE JADE" at the bottom.

Later, as Lalique’s name became as synonymous with perfume bottles as Coty’s, he would make empty vessels so that customers could transfer their perfumes into Lalique’s more elegant containers. Tantot and Amphitrite are just two examples of unfilled Lalique perfume bottles.

During the 1920s and ’30s, glass perfume bottles inspired by the Art Deco movement were all the rage. Natural forms and motifs gave way to geometric shapes and bold, streamlined designs. In Czechoslovakia, perfume bottles from this era are routinely made of blown and meticulously cut crystal. For some of these bottles, the diameters of the stoppers were a great as those of the bottles beneath them, giving these otherwise simple containers the look of a Vegas showgirl wearing an impossibly top-heavy headdress.

But between the wars, Paris was the place for perfume and perfume bottles. Signature shapes for Chanel No. 5 and Shalimar by Guerlain were codified, and beautiful collaborations took place between Baccarat, the legendary maker of fine crystal, and everyone from Guerlain to fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli. For Guerlain, Baccarat created the Japanese-influenced Liu bottle, with its square-sided black body adorned gold labels. For Schiaparelli, Baccarat produced a bottle in the shape of a candle in a candlestick, with a gilt-metal flame for a stopper.

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Rare Molinard Habanita Lalique Perfume Bottle Atomizer$355.00 Ends Monday 6 bids 31 watchers
Chanel's "les Exclusifs" 10 Mini Bottles X 4 Ml$345.99 Ends in 3 hours 1 bid 10 watchers
Lalique Crystal Cactus Perfume Bottle, 5" Tall. Xlnt$325.00 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 4 watchers
Lalique Perfume Bottle Sylphide 2000 Limited 40ml$250.00 Ends Thursday 1 bid 9 watchers
Pr Antique 1860 9" Grn Glass Perfume Bottle W Portrait$207.50 Ends Tuesday 2 bids 12 watchers
Vintage Art Deco Lalique Signed Camille Perfume Bottle$202.50 Ends in 16 hours 3 bids 40 watchers
Antique Sterling Silver Perfume Bottle Gorham$195.00 Ends in 23 hours 1 bid 5 watchers
Lalique Lily Of The Valley Perfume Bottle$174.99 Ends in 23 hours 1 bid 9 watchers
A Super Vintage *noritake* Richly Gilded Perfume Bottle$169.41 Ends in 16 hours 14 bids 20 watchers
Charles Lotton Signed & Dated (1983) Perfume Bottle$167.20 Ends Tuesday 5 bids 14 watchers
Sterling Guilloche Enamel Scent Perfume Bottle$161.16 Ends in 23 hours 8 bids 21 watchers
Vintage Lot Miniature Perfume Bottles Over 150$158.73 Ends in 1 hour 13 bids 27 watchers
Vintage Perfume Bottle Made In France Box Made In Japan$158.50 Ends in 22 hours 14 bids 51 watchers
Solid Silver & Glass Perfume Bottle Vinaigrette C 1880$152.80 Ends in 18 hours 14 bids 65 watchers
Antique Victorian Amethyst Cut Crystal Perfume Bottle$152.29 Ends Monday 10 bids 29 watchers
Lalique Baptiste Perfume Bottle$131.21 Ends in 8 hours 2 bids 31 watchers
~lournay Perfume Bottle~4 Maidens~1920s~j Viard~$130.50 Ends Monday 6 bids 15 watchers
Victorian Mt. Washington Art Glass Perfume Bottle, 1895$125.95 Ends Tuesday 3 bids 27 watchers
Green Antique Sterling Silver Overlay Perfume Bottle$124.50 Ends Tuesday 4 bids 24 watchers
Rare Vintage Big Shalimar Perfume Baccarat Bottle 3 Oz Buy it Now$104.39 Ends in 23 hours 11 bids 12 watchers
Antique 1930's Czech Art Deco Dog Mini Perfume Bottle $103.19 Ends Thursday 5 bids 26 watchers
Daum Crystal Pate De Verre Iris Perfume Bottle$102.50 Ends Thursday 2 bids 11 watchers
Deco Era Czech Crystal Intaglio Stopper Perfume Bottle$102.50 Ends Wednesday 3 bids 8 watchers
(2) Bottles Anne Klein Ll Eau De Parfum, New In Boxes!!$101.99 Ends in 20 hours 12 bids 13 watchers
Lalique Large French Art Deco Perfume Factice Bottle$100.00 Ends Wednesday 9 bids 14 watchers
Antique Green Glass Sterling Overlay Perfume Bottle$99.99 Ends in 22 hours 1 bid 13 watchers
Antique 1921 Fontanis Perfume Bottle Baccarat Design$99.95 Ends Tuesday 1 bid 37 watchers
Vintage Czechoslovakia/czech Nude-s Perfume Bottle 30's$99.00 Ends Wednesday 1 bid 25 watchers
Antique Cranberry Cut To Clear Glass Perfume Bottle$95.00 Ends Monday 4 bids 17 watchers
Lovely Miniature Silver Flask Scent Perfume Bottle 1888$86.20 Ends in 17 hours 19 bids 57 watchers
Lalique Art Nouveau Crystal Enamel Perfume Scent Bottle$84.71 Ends Wednesday 12 bids 60 watchers
Lalique Bucolique High Perfume Bottle Nib - A Beauty! $80.96 Ends in 23 hours 7 bids 12 watchers
De Rauch "vacarme" Vintage 1 Oz Perfume Bottle$79.99 Ends in 19 hours 1 bid 1 watcher
Antique Victorian Cobalt Blue Perfume Scent Bottle * Nr$79.00 Ends Monday 7 bids 34 watchers
Givenchy Organza Indecence Eau De Parfum Bottle 100 Ml$78.77 Ends Saturday 9 bids 14 watchers
Antique Silver& Guilloche/enamel~scent/ Perfume Bottle$78.00 Ends Friday 4 bids 32 watchers
Lalique Art Glass Large Flower Perfume Bottle Signed$77.56 Ends Monday 10 bids 11 watchers
Vintage Guerlain Shalimar Perfume Huge Baccarat Bottle$77.50 Ends Monday 8 bids 30 watchers
David Lotton Signed & Dated (1983) Perfume Bottle$77.00 Ends Monday 3 bids 10 watchers
Antique French Sterling Silver Baccarat Perfume Bottle $76.60 Ends Sunday 10 bids 36 watchers
Huge! Factice- Lolita Lempicka Display Bottle$76.00 Ends Tuesday 10 bids 12 watchers
Vintage Paglieri Colonia Felce Azzura Perfume Bottle$75.00 Ends Thursday 1 bid 6 watchers
40s Evening In Paris Bourjois Perfume Bottles Boxed Set$73.68 Ends in 10 mins 5 bids 26 watchers
Antique Double Overlay Perfume Bottle W/silver Lid$73.26 Ends Wednesday 8 bids 34 watchers
Antique Vintage Venetian Perfume Scent Bottle Murrine$73.11 Ends Wednesday 4 bids 24 watchers
Sterling Guilloche Perfume Bottle Jet? Strand Rare Old$70.95 Ends Friday 3 bids 9 watchers
Factice Jean Paul Gaultier Perfume Crystal Bottle Rare$69.99 Ends Thursday 1 bid 9 watchers
Tiffin Green Depression Vaseline Glass Perfume Bottle$68.50 Ends in 1 hour 11 bids 22 watchers
Sterling Silver & Blue Enamel Guilloche Perfume Bottle$66.00 Ends Thursday 10 bids 8 watchers
Rare Craig Zweifel Art Glass Perfume Bottle Signed$62.00 Ends Monday 4 bids 17 watchers
Victorian Double Ended Red Perfume Bottle Sterling Lids$61.00 Ends Sunday 9 bids 28 watchers
Lalique L'air Du Temps Perfume Bottle Nina Ricci Doves$61.00 Ends Sunday 6 bids 5 watchers
Exquisite Old Lavender Perfume Bottle~rhinestones~roses$61.00 Ends Monday 7 bids 23 watchers
Matson Vintage Poppy Perfume Bottles (for Both!) Nr!$60.00 Ends Sunday 2 bids 7 watchers
Antique Solid Silver Perfume Bottle & Original Box 1894$59.79 Ends Tuesday 3 bids 37 watchers
Nina Ricci Farouche Perfume Set Boxed Lalique Bottles $59.79 Ends Thursday 8 bids 15 watchers
Victorian Solid Silver & Cut Glass Perfume Bottle 1900$57.30 Ends in 18 hours 9 bids 35 watchers
Antique Etched Sterling Silver Perfume Scent Bottle$57.00 Ends Sunday 12 bids 77 watchers

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Recent News: Perfume Bottles

Source: Google News

Pieces of past rise to occasion
Macon Telegraph, November 5th

Of course, one must expand that definition of “treasure” to include an antique belt buckle, shoe soles, vintage perfume bottles and parts of old mattress...Read more

Land Park Estate Sale
News-antique.com (press release), November 3rd

This Christmas it will be you to hang her ornaments, your home boasting her book collection, your cabinets decorated with her perfume bottles,...Read more

Revealing the handy 'gadget stick'
Orillia Packet & Times, October 31st

pens and pencils, coin holders, maps, assorted games, sewing kits, pill boxes, perfume bottles, fans and that Victorian necessity, smelling salts...Read more

Making room
Louisville Courier-Journal, October 31st

A built-in mirrored perfume cabinet is a showplace for Gaye's collection of mini perfume bottles. An antique Chippendale cabinet that belonged to her mother...Read more

Savoia's Auctions, Inc
Antiques and Arts Weekly, October 23rd

Victorian dresser set one with Moser type glass box with miniature perfumes, Limoges egg with fitted perfume bottle, Antique Caucasian 42 1/2 x 67,...Read more

Antique Helper
Antiques and Arts Weekly, October 22nd

Silver: Tiffany & Co. toasting goblets and bowl, Modernist Taxco perfume bottle and pill boxes, Picasso sterling commemorative plates, 1905 Meriden...Read more

A Collector of Houses Unloads Some Gothiana
New York Times, October 22nd

The house's previous owners would feel right at home with the pinnacles and tracery that sprout from rosewood chairs, walnut bedsteads, perfume bottles,...Read more

McGee has a real eye for antiques
Norman Transcript, October 18th

He started buying miniature liquor bottles at garage sales or estate auctions . Then he got into perfume bottles. "It was a way of collecting art glass," he...Read more

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