Antique French Palais Royal Blue Opaline Perfume Bottle

$275.00

Item# 139

Dimensions: 3 inches tall

This antique French Palais Royal blue opaline “Grand Tour” scent bottle, circa 1870, is a quintessential example of luxurious 19th-century antique souvenir bottle craftsmanship. Hand-blown from opaline glass—a semi-translucent, opalescent material tinted a deep, glowing cobalt blue—it captures light with a soft, ethereal sheen that shifts beautifully.

These Grand Tour scent bottles were popular souvenirs for affluent travelers on the European Grand Tour, sold in the elegant boutiques of Paris’s Palais Royal galleries during the Napoleon III era. The bottle, typically compact (around 3–5 inches tall), features a rectangular or gently curved form with ornate ormolu (gilt bronze) mounts: intricate pierced filigree, scrolling acanthus leaves, beading, and sometimes architectural details encasing the glass. A hinged, domed lid opens to a glass stopper or dauber for perfume application.

The signature “Grand Tour” feature is a reverse-painted miniature scene—often a famous landmark like the Arc de Triomphe, a Parisian monument, or another European icon—set in a medallion or plaque on the front or lid, preserving travel memories in exquisite detail. Gilding contrasts richly against the vivid blue glass, enhancing its opulent appeal.

Highly collectible as an*antique scent bottle for the noblility, it blends French artistry with romantic tourism history, perfect for display on a vanity or in a collection of Victorian-era treasures.

Minor imperfection part of the glaze process. Slight dent in cap.

1 in stock



Shipping Information:

Following your purchase, we will professionally package and ship your bottle, with an estimated delivery time of 15 days.

SKU: 139 Category:

About This Piece

A one-of-a-kind antique perfume bottle, selected for its sculptural beauty, color, and quiet presence. Pieces like this were created in an era when perfume bottles were designed as objets d’art. They were meant to be handled, admired, and kept, not discarded. Each bottle in the Southern Vapors collection is chosen slowly and deliberately. If it’s here, it’s because it held my attention—and then refused to let go.

About Southern Vapors

Curated by Southern Vapors, each antique perfume bottle is selected for design integrity, emotional resonance, and authenticity. You, our customers, may be gift-givers drawn to meaningful beauty, interior designers seeking sculptural accents, or collectors who have fallen as deeply in love with these special objects as I have. We are all people who hear beauty when it speaks to us, and we buy with intention. This is our greatest pleasure and driving force behind Southern Vapors: to seek out and make available items that resonate with you.

Condition & Authenticity

All bottles are authentic antiques and are sold as decorative objects. The vast majority of these bottles no longer hold perfume, but are stunning all the same. Please remember that antique glass and porcelain may show signs of age consistent with its history; this is not damage, but evidence of a life well lived.

Use & Care

These bottles are best enjoyed as display pieces, conversation starters, or objects of personal delight. They are not recommended for modern perfume use unless explicitly stated. Handle with care, as you would any fine antique glass. Philosophy.

At Southern Vapors, collecting is not about accumulation. It is about intention. An antique perfume bottle is a vessel of color, memory, and human touch. It asks you to slow down, to trust your eye, and to welcome beauty without apology. If a piece speaks to you, that is reason enough.

To showcase the craftsmanship and beauty of our antique perfume bottles, we feature them in monthly “Collections.” Each is a limited run of 15 to 20 bottles per month curated for a specific topic. April is “April in Paris,” May is “Because of My Mother” and June is “Calling all Collectors.” If there are collections that you would particularly like to see, send the names to info@southernvapors.com!

Policies

All sales are final due to the one-of-a-kind nature of antique items. Items are carefully packed and insured for shipment. If you have questions before purchasing, you are warmly encouraged to ask.

Styling note

Antique perfume bottles shine when given breathing room: on a bedside table, a bookshelf, or layered into a mantel vignette with books, ceramics, or natural light. One is elegant; a small grouping is transformative.

Additional information

Weight .2 lbs
Dimensions 2 × 2 × 3 in