Collection Online
Scent bottle
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
Not on display
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.