Silver-gilt Chinoiserie perfume bottle

A good quality perfume bottle in the Chinoiserie style. The square glass body is cut and engraved with lattice decoration and a stylised flower in the centre of each side. The silver-gilt lid is hand-engraved with Chinoiserie style decoration of birds in a natural setting and pulls off to reveal a glass stopper.

First appearing in the 17th century, the aesthetic Chinoiserie trend was popularised in the 18th century due to the rise in trade with China and East Asia and reflected the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and East Asian artistic traditions.

Chinoiserie is related to the Rococo style both of which are characterised by exuberant decoration, asymmetry, a focus on materials and stylised nature. Chinoiserie focuses on subjects of leisure and pleasure that were thought by colonial-era Europeans to be typical of Chinese culture.