The Historical Development of Glass Perfume Bottles in the 18th and 19th Centuries

If the 18th century is the era of ceramic perfume bottles, then the 19th century can be called the era of glass perfume bottles. Glass not only has the stability that will not cause qualitative deterioration to perfume, but also has airtightness that will not make it evaporate. Also, contents can be seen at a glance from the outside due to their transparency. It can be said that there is no more suitable material than glass for perfume containers that require very high stability and airtightness. In addition, as the use of perfume becomes more common, perfume bottles require both good quality and low prices, and glass can meet this requirement.

Ⅰ. The birth of glass perfume bottles

At that time, a generation of nobles who had been supporting glass products continued to decline. Due to the prevalence of trade protectionism, exports were stagnant, which dealt a heavy blow to glass workshops in various countries. It was a fatal blow for Venice and Bohemia that accounted for more than 90% of export glassware production.

However, due to the popularity of perfume culture, strong demand for perfume bottles was born again at the time, which is a timely help for the perfume bottle industry. They believe that high-end glass perfume bottles have unique technical advantages in export. Therefore, every workshop racked its brains to design new works. The glass perfume bottles of the 19th century were created in this background.

Ⅱ. The craftsmanship of glass perfume bottles in Venice

The glass production process in Venice is unrivaled in other glass-producing areas, including lace glass. In the 19th century, lace glass accounted for the largest proportion of perfume bottles. It also marked Venetian glass breaking the stagnation by its own efforts.

Ⅲ. The revival of the Bohemian glass perfume bottles

From the 17th to the 18th centuries, the Bohemian glass industry that occupied 80% of the European high-end glass production was gradually on the wane. To save the situation, they continued to develop new technologies, launched many new and unique designs, and published a number of works. There are also marble glass perfume bottles in black, green, tea, blue and other colors. In addition, there is bright glass made with new element compounds such as neodymium and thallium that were only discovered at that time, as well as works created with new techniques such as grating ion-exchange color and transparent enamel color.

In this way, Bohemian glass perfume bottles in the 19th century offered people a changing world of glass by showing its various techniques, novel design and colorful forms.

Ⅳ. British glass perfume bottle

Like Venice and Bohemia, in the United Kingdom that has a long history, perfume bottles are also a popular commodity in glass workshops. Especially tempered crystal glass has become the mainstream.

There were custom perfume bottles in various shapes ranging from crystal craft called Rock crystal carvings to cocktail bottles, ladle-shaped bottles, bottles with three legs, and small neck bottles. In addition, there are many styles with gold and silver bottle caps. The cloisonne perfume bottles were also exclusively produced in the UK, which has beautiful patterns and leather cases for carrying, and they were popular at the time.

V. The Heyday of Glass Perfume Bottles

With the rise of new industries in the 19th century, traditional handicrafts suffered a fatal blow. The nobility, who had been supporting this industry, were gradually declining, making order production almost stagnant. Porcelain perfume bottles that were all the rage in the 18th century no longer existed.

At the same time, different countries have successively adopted trade protection policies in order to protect their own industries and save the recession. The Venetian and Bohemian glass industries devoted their efforts to the design and production of the most popular perfume bottles at the time. This era marked the beginning of the heyday for glass perfume bottles, as these regions became leading custom perfume bottle manufacturers. The commitment to craftsmanship and aesthetic design during this period created a wide range of works that are still celebrated today. It was a pivotal moment that paved the way for modern perfume packaging manufacturers to innovate and evolve, continuing the legacy of exquisite perfume bottle design.