Silver Mount Perfume Bottle
When you search for a silver mount perfume bottle, you are looking at small dressing table essentials combining precious metalwork with coloured or cut glass.
Silver Mount Perfume Bottle
A silver mount perfume bottle is a portable or dressing table container designed to hold scents, colognes, or smelling salts securely. These vessels date primarily from the Victorian and Edwardian eras, stretching through the 19th century into the early decades of the 20th century.
The most common examples encountered on this page feature moulded, cut, or coloured glass bodies fitted with hallmarked sterling silver collars, caps, or hinged lids. Collectors also find variations incorporating tortoiseshell, enamel, or leather cases alongside double-ended formats and travelling trios.
How They Were Made
Glass bodies were produced using techniques like heavy cutting, moulding, or blowing, utilising rich hues such as cranberry, ruby, opaline, and Bristol green alongside clear crystal. Silversmiths then fashioned matching metal mounts, collars, and hinged lids, frequently employing embossing, chasing, or engraving directly onto the sterling silver.
Specialised items integrate secondary materials, combining glass or crystal with inset tortoiseshell panels, silver gilt, or blue enamel details. Internal stoppers of glass or cork ensured the liquid contents remained sealed inside the decorative exterior casing.
Listings here span from the 18th century through the Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, and Art Deco periods, utilising materials like sterling silver, tortoiseshell, and cranberry glass.
What Varies in Quality
Quality rests upon the harmony between the glass body and the silversmith's work, where substantial gauge silver and crisp, deep hand-cutting elevate an object above standard mass-produced dressing table wares. Superior pieces display crisp hallmarks, undamaged internal glass stoppers, and intricate detailing such as overlay work or integrated enamel.
The choice and execution of coloured glass, whether brilliant cranberry or delicate opaline, heavily influence desirability alongside unusual structural forms like egg shapes, icicles, or double-ended designs.
Harold Bushell and Co·Barnsley and Co·Adie Brothers Ltd·Walker and Hall·Black Starr and Frost
The Silver Mount Perfume Bottle Glossary
- Sterling silver
- A silver alloy containing 92.5 percent pure silver and 7.5 percent other metals, typically copper, used for the mounts and lids of these bottles.
- Cranberry glass
- A distinctive pinkish-red glass created by adding gold to the molten batch, frequently utilised during the Victorian period.
- Double ended
- A bottle configuration featuring two separate compartments accessed from opposing ends, often serving perfume in one half and smelling salts in the other.
- Vinaigrette
- A small ornamental container with a pierced internal grille used to hold a sponge soaked in aromatic vinegar.
- Hallmark
- An official stamp applied by an assay office indicating the purity of the metal, the maker, and the year of manufacture.
Silver Mount Perfume Bottle: Frequently Asked Questions
What are double ended perfume bottles?
Double ended perfume bottles feature two distinct compartments accessed from separate caps at either end of the vessel. They were designed to carry both a liquid scent and smelling salts simultaneously.
Victorian ladies utilised these compact dual-purpose containers during social outings when the need for reviving salts might arise unexpectedly alongside personal fragrance.
How do I date a silver mount perfume bottle?
Dating these accessories relies heavily upon reading the sterling silver hallmarks stamped into the metal mounts or collars. These marks reveal the specific assay office and year of manufacture.
Stylistic indicators such as heavy glass cutting, coloured bodies, or specific silversmith marks help confirm whether an item belongs to the Victorian, Edwardian, or later periods.
Were these bottles meant for travel?
Many silver mounted bottles were engineered specifically for travel, often appearing within fitted leather cases or travelling trios. The secure screw-down or hinged silver lids prevented leaks inside luggage.
Robust cut glass bodies and thick silver collars ensured these personal items could endure the journeys undertaken by well-to-do owners during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
What is cranberry glass?
Cranberry glass is a transparent red glass produced by introducing gold chloride into the molten glass mixture. Victorian makers favoured this striking material for scent bottles and dressing table wares.
When paired with bright sterling silver mounts, the rich pinkish-red tone created a high-contrast decorative effect popular across the late 19th century.