Vintage Glass Perfume Bottles

The perfume bottle is the perfect compliment to its contents, as both perfume and its bottles are elegantly designed and eternally enjoyable. Including coveted creators from Baccarat to Waterford, the field of art glass perfume bottles is vast and ideal for those who love a scintillating scent.

Scenting oneself in oils or other concoctions is a practice that dates back to the ancient world. The practice of bottling perfume in elegant glass pieces grew exponentially in the 19th century, when glassmakers around the globe began creating vessels specifically designed for the luxurious liquid.

While producers were already creating varied forms of perfume bottles by the mid to late 19th century, the diversity and invention of perfume bottle designs skyrocketed with the arrival of Art Nouveau in the 1890s and Art Deco in the early 20th century. Perfume bottles created during these times reflected the most current glassmaking techniques alongside increasingly-diverse shapes, from small purse size flasks to elaborate art glass display pieces. Resulting is a field of vessels that are appreciated simply for their beauty; the fact that they also serve the function of preserving perfume is a secondary benefit.

Quick Facts

• One of the most unusual and highly-collectible perfume bottle forms is the gemel bottle, which fused together two or more independent blown-glass vessels in artful arrangements containing multiple perfumes
• René Lalique's 1936 design for Saks Fifth Avenue is one of his record-breaking perfume bottles. Featuring an opalescent oyster shell that opens to reveal a pearl of perfume, the bottle sold in 2013 for $57,500
• Steuben was acclaimed for their perfume bottles featuring their Verre de Soie method of iridescent glassmaking