Pink Round Perfume Bottle with Clear Floral Stopper

This elegant piece is an example of the common practice of having stoppers and bottles that are not necessarily tied to each other. These two pieces go together beautifully, but were likely made separately. The bottle portion is a rose, cut crystal, stout base with fanning engraved detailing creating sunburst effects. While the bottle is beautiful, the stopper is an especially unique and complex crystal work. Its proportions are much taller than the base of the bottle. Being clear crystal, the extreme craftsmanship demonstrated in the execution is the focus of the piece.

First, the stopper has a double intaglio floral motif. This means that the design has been molded into the glass from both sides, not just a flat piece of crystal with designs on one side. This is certainly a more demanding practice than the single intaglio. Further, a skilled artisan created small openings in the glass, which is called openwork. It is significantly less common than other effects due to the craftsmanship required. The design was also frosted to highlight the artisan’s intricate details. The resulting exquisite stopper is a tall, clear crystal, molded openworked design with a double intaglio frosted floral motif. 

The flowers depicted in this magnificent stopper appear to be red poppy, a flower that is commonly associated with Czech culture. Red poppy grows in fields in Bohemia and its seeds are used in many traditional Czech dishes.

ARTIST

Unknown Czech Artist

TITLE

Pink Round Cut Crystal Perfume Bottle with Clear Floral Openworked Stopper

 DATE

c. 1940s

MEDIUM

Bohemian Crystal

DIMENSIONS

19.25 cm x 7.5 cm

CREDIT LINE

Eric & Barbara Ottervik Collection, donated October 2018

CURRENT LOCATION

Czech Center Museum 4920 San Jacinto St. Houston, TX 77004
Third Floor, North Wall

ACCESSION NUMBER

COtt72

CLASSIFICATION

Crystal

PROVENANCE

The perfume bottle was produced by a Czechoslovakian manufacturer in the 20th century.