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Please note: I have added 29 photos to the bottom of this listing to try and show the item in as much detail as possible so please take the time to view them all carefully.

What a really fabulous antique crystal glass and silver mounted scent bottle this is.

Retailed by the world famous CARTIER in Paris.

Remember Cartier was founded in 1847 by Louis Francois Cartier and a few years later he was making items for the Royals and their aristocracy friends.

Cartier is not only a famous brand for fine jewellery they RETAILED many items made from gold and silver for the luxury market such as this scent bottle, vanity items, compacts, clocks and object d'art.

The smaller Cartier items of silver were often made by other silversmiths, again of very high quality workmanship for one off jobs through to larger commissions. These very skilled silversmiths would have to be top of their game to be employed by Cartier of course for these bespoke items, and it was about 1860 when Cartier started having these items made.

This is an antique scent bottle made from colourless clear crystal cut glass with highly decorated fine pierced and fretted silver mounts on the top and facetted tapered base.

The clear crystal is tapered and facetted with 8 sides. Very little glass can be seen actually. The bottom silver mount is a really fabulous design with the openwork flower petal like design and the very bottom has a 4 section silver orb like finial.. this is solid and not openwork.

The finest quality workmanship on all the silver mounts.

The top mount has a fabric looking design with swag and tassel detailing alongside 2 cast elephant masks and a detailed turbaned boy figurine finial at the top, he is holding a hand fan with his right hand.

This is all 3 dimensional with very good fine attention to detail.

Hinged finial lid and the bottle top dips in to save spillages with a gilt silver final stopper which has cork around it in the bottle mouth. Silver gilt inside the hinged lid.

The bottle is filled with white crystals which could be SMELLING salts. I have not tried to get them out.

The elephant masks looking from the front at the boy sat on the finial you will see the nearest elephant ear, each have a hole which I would assume would have had a chain attached in between for hanging on a chatelaine or similar. Long since lost.

It has numerous French silver hallmarks which are tiny and I cannot determine what they are to be honest and the same makers mark in small diamond shapes. These are G over what looks like a larger wider H or it could be a castle ( gate with 2 turrets ) over an initial which is an odd shaped S or J. I cannot find these marks on any website but if you are into French silversmiths you may know more. The websites I have found are a little limited for specialist makers marks.

In collectable condition with normal signs of age and use wear. There are some surface scuffs and scratches on the crystal. Looking with a loupe - magnifying glass it has a tiny scratch on the glass just below the main central front swag tassel at the right hand side as you look at it. It is 4mm long. You can only see this with your eyes if you tilt the bottle into the light. The hinged finial lid is slightly loose on the hinge.

The very bottom pierced silver mount is loose as well and can be pulled off !!

I have NOT glued this back on, as I like to leave items in the condition I buy them in. It would "super glue" back on with little problem.

Please see pictures for more details and visual confirmation of condition which can be enlarged if you hover over them. It is wise to use a good size PC or laptop as well when browsing my items for sale as i-phones are very limited.

The bottle measures 5 inch long overall x 1 and a 1/2 inch widest point from elephant head to elephant head x 3/4 inch wide at the bottom silver mount. The young gentleman on the lid finial is 1 and an 1/8th inch from the lid top to his turban. The narrow part of the bottle neck is 1/2 inch dia.

The Elephants heads are 1 inch long x just over 5/8ths inch wide and the head sticks out nearly 3/8ths inch away from the silver mount.

The boys foot hangs down below the hinged lid and such small delicate parts as this are often damaged. This bottle has been well looked after.

The bottle weighs 127 grams in total.

So how do I get the CARTIER connection you are all asking ? We are no longer allowed to add links of interesting pages of companies history or museum sites so you you will have to find it yourself. You need to go to Cartier website, then to their The Maison and from there to The Story - Living Treasure - Cartier Collection - Objects then click on Discover, it opens up Precious Objects and look at the top left as you scroll down and you will see PERFUME BOTTLE which is described as Cartier Paris 1872, silver, silver gilt, crystal and enamel.

You will see only 2 differences to the one I have for sale here. Their collection example has turquoise enamel on it and the silver gilt. Also notice the CHAIN is complete on theirs as well going from the elephants ears up to the boys lap.

A rare scent perfume bottle which may only be the second ever made.. who knows unless you have one in your collection ? It would be interesting to know how many of these were made and who they were made for. Clearly they were made by the same silversmiths but for different clients as mine has NEVER been enamelled. Mine is silver gilt inside the hinged lid only.

I would think with some good research into Cartier archives one would be able to possibly find out the original silversmiths that made these two scent bottles, who they were made for and more importantly the significance of the Asian Indian head elephants and the young boy sat on the top finial.

It may be British Raj related and a bespoke gift to someone or similar. Only time will tell.

My stock ref: ... in scent - perfume bottle cabinet.

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