Perfume Bottles

ENGLISH PERFUME BOTTLES 17English Cameo glass: In the 1870s,John Northwood rediscovered the techniquefor making cameo glass, which had beenlost since Roman times. Cameo glass ismade of a body of opaque colored glasscased in white glass. The outer layer is cutaway or acid etched away in a pattern toreveal the underlayer. The remaining designon the outer layer stands out in relief. Agreat deal of hand finishing was necessaryfor this method. The style is bestexemplified by the magnificent, yet stillamusing, bird’s head bottle made byThomas Webb and Sons in the 1880s.Most other English cameo bottles are of asimple boule (ball) shape and decoratedwith flowers and vines and stopped withsterling silver.elegant cut and colored glass bodies. Somehad finger rings to be carried by the ownerat evening functions. Others had fabulouslyelaborate gold fittings. Cased glass cut backto its clear underlayer was also a Bohemianinvention, much copied in England. Manyof these creations were then decorated withenamel, a popular style still identified withBohemian glass. The English alsomanufactured fine clear cut glass singlebottles with sterling silver mounts and caps.4” Double-ended scent bottle in red cut toclear in a star and punty design with sterlingcaps and inner stopper on the perfume side,no hallmarks, ca. 1870s. English or possiblyAmerican. $350-450English Porcelains and StonewareChelsea English Porcelains date fromthe 1750s. They were often made in theform of people, animals or fruit. Rococobottles with applied flowers and leaves werethe firm’s most popular products.5” Webb Pefume bottle & stopper, cameoglass, Flattened teardrop form, avocadogreen ground cased in white & cameo-cutw/triumph-form blossoms on leafy vines.$2400-2750Double-ended scent bottles: Thesebottles were extremely popular in the 19thcentury. One end held smelling salts and theother end was meant for perfume. The endsof the two sections often had different typesof lids. The perfume end would commonlyhave a tiny glass inner stopper covered by achased silver overcap or a cork lined screwcap. The smelling salt end would usuallyhave a sterling silver screw cap or a springloaded hinged lid. These bottles could havesimple clear faceted glass containers or very3.2” Porcelain bottle molded as a bouquet ofpansies, painted dark blue, red and yellow,unmarked, attributed to Chelsea, c1800s,$2500