Terms and conditions of use
Scent bottle
(c. 1785)
- Medium
- stoneware
- Measurements
- 8.8 × 3.0 cm diameter
- Accession Number
- 2024.375
- Department
- International Decorative Arts
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Patricia Begg OAM Bequest, 2024 - Gallery location
- 17th & 18th Century Decorative Arts & Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International - About this work
-
The eighteenth century was a golden age for the European perfume industry. The heavy scents favoured in earlier periods to mask unpleasant odours were replaced by a wide range of delicate, especially floral, fragrances. Perfume containers became important fashion items and were produced in a rich array of materials and designs. This small scent bottle by the Wedgwood manufactory is decorated in applied relief with bands of Classical imagery; it features a silver hinged cap with a jasperware stopper inside. A scent bottle of this small size was designed to be carried in a lady’s pocket.