Antiques – These Antiques Always Come Up Smelling Pretty

People have been making themselves and their surroundings smell nice since ancient times. At first such luxury was only for the wealthy. Two of the gifts of the magi were scents, frankincense and myrrh, and they were very valuable.
The lowly rest of us had to live with the foul odors of ordinary life, and, back then, those odors were quite foul. One can only imagine how much the medieval peasants must have enjoyed their few hours a week inhaling the incense in church.
By Victorian days things were much less smelly, especially in the big cities. Fortunately more folks could afford ways to mitigate the fetor. Ladies carried tiny bottles of scent, called vinaigrettes, around their necks or on dangling devices called chatelaines. The gentlemen kept scented handkerchiefs stuffed in their sleeves.
These scents were not sold in fancy bottles, but concocted in apothecaries, and sold in large bottles. These would be funneled into art glass vials at home. Some of these bottles were very beautiful, the height of Victorian glass artistry.
Many of the finest of those bottles were made in Bohemia, which would become part of the new country of Czechoslovakia, formed toward the end of World War I in 1918. This would be just in time for Bohemian glass artists to try their skills at the modern Art Deco style.
The results were some of the most chic, elegant and spectacular perfume bottles ever made. If you have seen them, you already know what an impressive display even a small collection can make. They are also still very useful, and make great gifts.
For interior air freshener, the Victorians used a variety of methods. There were scent sconces, wall pockets with shallow wells for liquid scent or potpourri. There were also jars for potpourri and perfume lamps, where liquid scent was heated up over a flame or bulb to evaporate into the air.
All these devices are collectible today, as is the oldest of them all, the incense burner. The word perfume comes from the Latin phrase meaning “by smoke.” Scented fire was how the Romans freshened the air in their homes. It was a trick taught to them by the Egyptians.
There are millennia of incense burners out there that were used for household and religious purposes. The come in a variety of materials from ceramics to bronze, some studded with jewels, others carved from gems. They are fascinating collectibles, and still quite good at their job.
To learn more, and to get a good idea of retail values, there are some web sites you should visit. For information about Czech perfumes, there’s www. czechperfumebottles.com. For perfume bottles in general, try the collectors club at www. perfumebottles.org. And finally, there is a remarkable overview of all sorts of collectible incense burners at www.incense-burner.com.
I often wondered how candle shops could even pay their rent. But, despite our modern sanitary living, the market for scented candles and oils, incense, air freshening devices, colognes and perfumes is a gazillion dollar business. The antique shops are very much in that game, with some of the most charming, fascinating and unique items anywhere. Keep your nose out for them.
Arthur Schwerdt, a certified appraiser, is the author of “The Antique Story Book: Finding the Real Value of Old Things,” and co-owner of The August Farmhouse Antiques on Route 9 in Swainton. Send your comments, questions and appraisal requests to: aschwerdt@cmcherald.com
With perfume sets, colored glass is especially prized. Large scent bottles stored perfume bought in bulk from an apothecary.