About the product:

🛕 Name/Type: Authentic antique Chinese bottle - Magnificent engraving technique between two layers of glass. A superb collector's item!

🌍 Origin: Asia

🕰️ Year: 17th or 18th century

📐 ⚖️ Dimensions: 8 x 4 x 2.5 centimeters

⚖️ Weight: 52 grams

🧬 Material: Glass - Metal

📦 Packaging: Individually wrapped in paper

🎁 Ideal as a gift or a treat for yourself!

🛕 History and symbolism

🕰️ History and origin

This magnificent bottle testifies to the refinement and virtuosity of the master glassmakers and goldsmiths of the 17th century .
At that time, between East and West , glass became a true artistic medium , combining transparency, light and meticulous detail .

Venetian, Persian, and Chinese artisans—particularly during the Ming and Qing dynasties —competed in ingenuity to create double-walled bottles , where two layers of glass were superimposed to protect miniatures or internal gilding .
These pieces were often commissioned by elites , served to contain rare essences, perfumes or elixirs , and symbolized prestige, purity and technical mastery .

🧵 An exceptional technique

The bottle shown here is dressed in finely chiseled metal lace , a true work of goldsmithing .
This metal frame , often made of silver, gilded copper or brass , served not only to protect the fragile glass, but also to highlight its beauty and enhance its light .

The superposition of two layers of glass was a technical feat:

• The first, internal one, was hand-painted , sometimes from inside the bottle , requiring almost algorithmic precision .
• The second, external layer acted as a protective and natural magnifying glass , giving the drawings a unique depth and relief .

This method, which appeared in Europe as early as the 17th century , was also perfected in imperial China for the famous snuff bottles (snuff tobacco bottles).
Each work was unique , the result of a long artisanal process combining science, art and the spirituality of the gesture .

🎨 Decorations and their meanings

The meticulous drawings encased in glass depict scenes from life at the time :
pastoral, festive, romantic or mythological scenes, sometimes inspired by European engravings or oriental symbols .

These representations were not purely decorative: they expressed a worldview based on the fragility of life , the fleeting nature of time , and the value of preserved beauty .

• The landscapes symbolized the harmony between man and nature.
• The scenes of everyday life were reminiscent of the nobility of simple gestures.
• The ornamental details — flowers, arabesques, spirals — embodied rebirth, continuity and balance .

Thus, the bottle became a miniature of the world , where every detail reflected the soul of its time.

💫 Symbolism of the bottle

The bottle, by its closed and translucent form , is a symbol of interiority : it contains hidden beauty , the memory of time , and sometimes the sacred breath of the perfume or elixir it contained.
In many cultures, the bottle symbolizes:

Thus, this bottle is both an object of art and a spiritual metaphor : a vessel of time , where the hand of man encloses the light of the world .

🌟 A rare and precious work

If this bottle does indeed date from the 17th century , it is an exceptional testimony of an era when technology and poetry were intertwined.
Its double wall , metal lacework and hand-crafted designs make it a very rare piece , inheriting both the science of alchemists and the sensitivity of glass artists .

"In its transparency, the bottle retains the memory of the gesture and the breath of the creator."