Creative Commons License
Scent Bottle with Mythological Scenes
In 1774, Josiah Wedgwood (1730-95) introduced the unglazed jasperware with white relief decoration on pastel or black backgrounds for which the firm became famous. The technique was used for ornamental cameos that appealed to the late 18th-century passion for ancient cameos and intaglios. This scent bottle is decorated with a young couple in front of an elderly seated woman, and on the other side, with two women making an offering on an alter of Love. Eros is hiding behind a mask on the alter and stretches out his hand to receive the offerings. The metal cap of the scent bottle has a loop so it could be worn.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
George Robinson Harding; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1911, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2010 | Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry. El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso. |
| 2006-2009 | Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
Geographies
United Kingdom, England, Stoke-on-Trent (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 3 1/2 in. (8.89 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1911
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
48.1570