England, late 18th century - Scent Bottle and Box in the form of a Squirrel - 2009.29 - Cleveland Museum of Art

In the 18th century, bottles in the shape of swans, young women, fruits, cupids or bouquets were in fashion. Such bottles were made of fine porcelain covered with enamel or glaze and set in a bronze or silver frame. The aristocracy preferred travel cases containing crystal bottles in leather cases. Then came the bottles made of Bohemian opal or opaque glass decorated with various ornaments. There was no limit to the imagination of the bottle designers: they made them in the shape of a balloon with a poodle inside, or a girl leaning against a Gothic fence holding a chest in her hands, or a bird in a cage. It was only at the beginning of the XX century that the bottle and perfume became an integral part of each other.