Images(2)

scent bottle

Object NameCameo Scent Bottle with Pears and Plums

Engraver/Painter(engraving and painting) probably Fridolin Kretschman (Bohemian, about 1850-1898)

Gilder(gilding) probably Jules Barbe (French, b. 1847)

Manufacturer(silver) possibly John Goffe & Son

Manufacturer(glass) Thomas Webb and Sons (f. 1837)

Made FromGlass, Silver, Cork, Enamel, Gilding

Dateabout 1880-1890; 1888 (silver)

Place MadeStourbridge, United Kingdom (glass); Birmingham, United Kingdom (silver)

TechniqueCased, blown, carved, painted, enameled, gilded, assembled

SizeOverall H: 7.3 cm, W: 4.7 cm, D: 3.1 cm

Accession Number2016.2.7

Credit LineGift of the Ennion Society

Curatorial Area(s)

Modern

Exhibitions

Cameo Glass: Masterpieces from 2000 Years of Glassmaking

On ViewChanging Exhibition Gallery

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

The decorators of this bottle carefully carved a glass blank, and then enlivened its pear and plum design by adding colored enamels and gilding. High-end scent bottles like this one were used to decant and dispense perfume bought in bulk from a perfumery or a druggist, as the bottle was more attractive and personal than the generic ones in which these scents were first packaged.

Physical DescriptionCameo Scent Bottle with Pears and Plums. Colorless or light amber and white glasses, purple, green, yellow, and orange paint or enamel, gilding, silver, cork; cased, blown, carved, painted or enameled, gilded, assembled. Flattened globular white on transparent light amber or colorless glass scent bottle. One side of bottle decorated with pair of pears on branch with leaves; opposite side decorated with pair of plums on branch with leaves. Ends of stems curl around base to create somewhat flat surface. Relief layer painted in greens, yellow, orange, blue, and purple, possibly fired enamel. Background of continuous undulating gold-painted line. Silver neck fixed to top of bottle; globular cap decorated with ornamental filigree hinged to neck. Cork set within top of cap.
Provenance

Source Susan Kaplan Jacobson - 2016-09-09
Susie Kaplan Jacobson’s collection of cameo bottles began around the age of 10. From her art-dealer parents and other family friends, she received small bottles as presents for her birthday, Hanukkah, and other celebratory occasions during the 1960s and 70s. 2016.2.5, the small round white-on-red bottle, was the first. While Kaplan Jacobson is not certain of the provenance of every bottle, she recalls that one of the Barbe bottles (2016.2.7 or 2016.2.8) came from Ray Grover in Florida, and 2016.2.10 was purchased from an unknown dealer at the New Haven Antiques Show. Searches for “cameo”, “Webb,” and “Woodall” in the Getty Provenance Index databases and on the Database of Art Objects at the Jeu de Paume by the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg yielded no matching or likely objects with problematic Nazi-era histories.

Former Collection Raymond Grover
Susan Kaplan Jacobson recalls that one of the Barbe bottles (2016.2.7 or 2016.2.8) came from Ray Grover in Florida

Former Collection Leo Kaplan (d. 2013)