CLEOPATRA'S BOUDOIR

In this guide I will introduce you to the world of the fabulous antique scent bottles featuring guilloche enamel decoration. These bottles first appeared in the 1890s and continued until the 1930s. From dainty Victorian examples to fabulous Art Deco fripperies of the Flapper, there are pieces to suit anyone's taste.

Many of them are made of sterling silver, silver-plate, German (nickel) silver or brass. Some are for the purse, some are on finger chains, tango chains for the wrist, and some were made for the chatelaine. This guide will focus on the sterling silver examples only.

These scent bottles were made in France, Germany, Austria, England and America. Look on the bottle, the stopper and cap for any markings. Two American makers I frequently see is CO&R and F&B.

Guilloche is a style of enameling in which a continuous decoration is engraved by an engine-turned lathe on a metal surface, and then covered with translucent enamel (fused glass) so that the engraving can be seen through the enamel.

The guilloche enamel was made in various colors, some of the most common colors found are robins egg blue, pink, white and yellow. Some of the rarer colors are lavender, black, red, orange and green. The pieces are almost always further enhanced with hand painted roses or other flowers, or rarely: birds.

Sometimes these were emblazoned with sorority or fraternity crests and probably given out at graduation or formal ceremonies to young grads.

 The pictures in this guide are provided by the following eBay sellers:

kajandco

lee3535kins

dreamkeeper220

bina5281

novie_troll

0m_girl

dab1202