There was a time when the prettiest things in a home were not necessarily saved for company. They were part of everyday life—a silver brush on the dressing table, a linen handkerchief tucked into a handbag, and a beautiful little bottle holding a favorite scent.
Perfume bottles have a history stretching back thousands of years. In ancient times, fragrant oils and perfumes were treasured luxuries, kept in vessels made of stone, pottery, and eventually glass. As the art of glassmaking became more sophisticated, the containers themselves grew more beautiful. What began as something practical slowly became something worth admiring.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, scent bottles had found a natural home on the dressing table. They were made in cut glass and crystal, painted porcelain, and sometimes finished with sterling silver tops and elaborate stoppers. Smaller examples traveled in ladies' cases and handbags, while more substantial bottles became part of the collection of pretty and useful things kept on a well-appointed vanity. And that is, in large part, how perfume bottles became collectibles.
When the last drop of perfume was gone, no one was particularly eager to throw away a beautiful crystal bottle or a delicate hand-painted flacon. They remained on dressing tables and tucked into drawers, sometimes passed from mother to daughter. Years later, collectors began appreciating them not simply as old perfume containers, but as small examples of the decorative arts.
Today, antique and vintage perfume bottles are collected for their craftsmanship, age, unusual shapes, beautiful stoppers, original labels, silver fittings, and wonderful old glass. Some are quite grand; others are wonderfully simple. We happen to think there is room for both.
Perhaps their greatest charm is the glimpse they give us into another era. An old perfume bottle brings to mind a dressing table before an evening out, a powder puff and hand mirror nearby, and that final little touch of fragrance before walking out the door.
At Marsh House, we have always believed that the most interesting homes are filled with things that are both beautiful and a little personal. Antique perfume bottles fit that philosophy rather perfectly. Display one on a silver tray, gather several on a dressing table, or simply tuck a beautiful little bottle among other collected treasures.
After all, the perfume may be long gone, but something lovely was left behind.