Egyptian Hand-Blown Iridescent Perfume Bottle with Applicator, Gold Spiral, c.1950s

Somewhere in Cairo in the 1950s, a glassblower sat down and decided that a perfume bottle should be an event. Not just a container. An event. The result is this: a slender, hand-blown glass perfume bottle with an iridescent finish that shifts between rose, violet, and amber depending on the light, wrapped in a delicate gold spiral that winds its way up from the base like something out of a fairy tale.

The form is pure theatre — a domed body balanced on a slender stem and circular foot, topped with a ruffled glass collar and a long, elegant teardrop finial that doubles as the applicator stopper. The applicator itself is a long glass wand, perfectly weighted, with a rounded tip. The whole thing is simultaneously completely impractical and absolutely wonderful.

This is the kind of object that sits on a dressing table and makes everything around it look slightly less interesting. It has been doing this for about 70 years and shows no signs of stopping.

• Egyptian hand-blown glass, c.1950s
• Iridescent finish — shifts rose, violet, amber in different light
• Gold spiral decoration and gold-rimmed collar
• Includes original long glass applicator/stopper
• Excellent condition — no chips or cracks
• 24 × 6.5 cm, 70 g

WARNING: This bottle will immediately become the most photogenic object on your dressing table. Maison de L'oro accepts no responsibility for any subsequent flat lay photography obsessions.