Antique Amethyst Purple Glass Apothecary / Chemist Bottle – c.1900

Antique Amethyst Purple Glass Apothecary / Chemist Bottle – c.1900

A wonderfully characterful old glass bottle in a beautiful smoky amethyst-purple colour, with a substantial rectangular body, rounded shoulders and short neck finished with a thick rolled lip.

The bottle has all the visual appeal we look for in early utilitarian glass: slightly uneven surfaces, tiny bubbles and imperfections within the glass, a wonderfully irregular finish around the neck and a substantial recessed base. The colour changes beautifully with the light, moving from dusky lavender and smoky violet to deeper blue-purple tones.

The form is consistent with late Victorian / early 20th-century pharmaceutical, chemist or general-purpose bottles, although with no surviving label, ( small round mark where a label was now unfortunately missing)embossing or maker's mark its original contents cannot now be identified with certainty. Comparable amethyst medicine and apothecary bottles are generally dated around the late 19th to early 20th century.

Today it makes a particularly attractive decorative bottle or simple single-stem vase — as shown in our photographs — and would sit beautifully amongst a collection of antique chemist bottles, old glass or vintage kitchen and bathroom pieces.

Period: Late 19th / early 20th century, approximately c.1890–1915

Material: Glass

Colour: Amethyst / smoky purple with blue-grey tones

Maker: Unmarked

Original use: Probably pharmaceutical, chemist or general-purpose bottle; exact use unknown

Stopper: None present

Condition: Good antique condition with expected surface marks, scratches, bubbles, ripples and manufacturing irregularities associated with old utilitarian glass. There is visible unevenness and character around the neck and rim. Please study the photographs carefully as these form an important part of the description.