glass
baroque
glass
ceramic
decorative-art
Copyright: Public Domain
This glass bottle and box set, now at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, was created by an anonymous artist. Without a known artist, the bottle exists in a historical and social vacuum, which may actually encourage us to imagine the lives that might have intersected with such an object. Was it the craftsperson who made it or the noble woman who received it as a gift? The set speaks to the rituals of personal care in the 18th century. Adorned with gold, it suggests wealth and status. The box, with its classical motifs, evokes a world of mythological narratives and idealized beauty. How did these images influence the owner's sense of self? Did this set reinforce societal expectations, or was it a source of personal empowerment? Reflecting on these glass bottles, one might consider the power of objects to both reflect and shape identities.
Comments
The box is decorated with scenes from the life of St. Nicholas of Myra. This fourth century Greek bishop, who was the patron saint of children, sailors and travelers and the guardian of young women, was the forerunner of St. Nicholas or Father Christmas. The gold scenes were applied in a piqué technique whereby thin sheets of gold are impressed into tortoiseshell which has been softened in boiling water and olive oil. Once the shell cools, it contracts and the gold is securely held in place. This technique was first introduced at the end of the sixteenth century in Naples, and by the following century it had spread to France, England and northern Europe, with Paris and Naples as the principal centers. The costly and time-consuming nature of this intricate technique imply that it was used on only the most expensive small luxury items such as inkstands, trays, snuffboxes and boxes for toilet articles, in this case gold-mounted perfume bottles.
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