Fabulous French Parcel Gilt/Silver Scent Bottle Circa 1850

Antiques : Scent, Perfume Or Cologne Bottles

 

This French scent bottle has an amazing amount of cast silver work. The lid has Pan feeding grapes to a nude figure on top of six flared/curved panels accented with hand engraving & narrow (less then 1/32") channels of navy blue enamel. The collar of the bottle has an ornate design. Attached to the collar & adhered to the bottle shoulders are two mythological figures ( 1 1/8" & 1 1/4" tall). One is holding a bird, the other is blowing a conch shell. The bottle's center, in the front & back, has shields for presentation-neither has been engraved. The base has an adhered silver frame comprised of wonderful flowers & leaves with two unusual styled birds on the sides of the bottle. All of the silver cast parts have parcel gilt. Meaning selective areas have been gold plated while others remain silver in color. You can find in numerous spots the French boars head touch mark for a guarantee of a 800 minimum silver content. I did find a maker's mark above the hinge but it is very tiny & unevenly impressed due to being on a rim. The silver is in excellent plus condition with no dents, rips, deep scratches, missing pieces or repairs. The bottom of the floral/bird silver frame (on the base of the bottle) has some surface wear & a small indentation dimple. The hinge for the lid is all original with out repairs & is in smooth working order. The lid is a flip back style. It still has a light drag even after all of these years. The gilt is in excellent condition. It has a lovely rich patina-not at all brassy in color. With the exception of the lid's curved panels the gilt is fairly even toned in color. The panels have a little lighter tone most likely from perfume residue & oil from hands. The blue enamel accent lines on the lid are in excellent minus condition. You can find a few minute surface bites overall. Approx. half of the horizontal channels located at the large panels base rims have slight loss of enamel, but there is patina buildup in these channels making the enamel loss almost impossible to see without a loupe. The bottle is probable rock crystal. It is hard to tell due to all the silver attached but the weight thru the center of the bottle is substantial. The bottle is in excellent plus condition & has no damage of cracks, chips, deep scratches or repairs. The bottle was abraded in specific areas to attach the various silver pcs. Some of this can be seen at the edges of the silver pcs. Other then the original to manufacturing abrasions, I see a few average sized 1/16" scratches, flea bites & some glue rims. With my loop the scratches look more like tool oops marks then actual scratches. The bottle appears clean from residue but has a very very faint touch of an ice opaque look-not bright like glass would be. This is another reason I believe it to be rock crystal. The bottom of the interior that the perfume would fill to is approx 3/8" above the base of the scent. In this area are a few black impurities. Due to bottle thickness & reflections from bottle & silver I can't tell if they are old residue or in the actual crystal. The scent has an interior hand cut glass stopper that is in excellent plus condition. It fits well with no rocking. The bottle will stand upright on it's own but I would use a display stand as it is top heavy thru shoulders. The scent is approx. 5 1/8" tall x 2 7/8" thru shoulders & is 1" at deepest point. This outstanding and rare scent bottle would be a super addition to your collection with it's fabulous silver work & excellent condition.

Item ID: 498

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