Important James Giles Glass Scent Bottle c1765
Directory: Antiques: Decorative Art: Glass: English: Pre 1800: Item # 1412201
Please refer to our stock # ng101 when inquiring.
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A scent bottle, enameled and gilded by James Giles, the most famous and important English decorator of glass and porcelain in the 18th century. The bottle was purchased immediately after its sale at Christies in the mid 1980's and has been in a private collection, unseen and not offered to anyone, until the present time.
The glass bottle is a translucent deep blue color (the third photo shows the bottle with a light source behind it), of flattened faceted form, with the original gold mount, stopper, and cover. One side of the bottle shows a mustached Chinese man with a parasol, while on the reverse is a beautiful rendering of flowering plants. Both sides are done in a panoply of colors and are profusely gilded. At different places on the bottle are simple gilded representations of birds in flight.
The height of this spectacular piece is 3 1/4" and the widest point of the slightly tapering body is 1 1/2". The condition is impeccable, with no chips, scratches, enamel or gilding loss.
NOTE: A similar bottle sold at Rowley's (UK) on 5/27/2014 for 8,925 pounds sterling (including the 19% premium). At the then current exchange rate that was $15,000. At the current exchange rate it would be $11,500. The Rowley's bottle had some enamel damages to the lid and main body, some gilt wear/loss, fritting to the top rim, slight fritting to the base, two small chips to the body, and a dent to the cover. That is a far cry from the condition of the piece at hand. In addition, the scenes on this bottle are less common and more interesting than the floral decoration on the Rowley's example.
