Set of two small antique cut crystal smelling salt bottles from the Victorian era.
This type of bottle, most often filled with stimulants based on ammonium carbonate or various acids, was used to revive ladies prone to fainting due to overly tight corsets. This very useful small object was always kept close at hand during that era. Today, these small miniature bottles are collected and often highly sought after.
The first, with geometric lines, has a small plain silver stopper (no hallmark); the second, with more rounded lines, has an engraved gilded silver stopper (hallmark difficult to decipher).
Note: the first is in good condition but has 1 micro-chip on an edge and 1 under its base; the second was adorned with gilded motifs, of which a few traces remain. The stopper is detached from the hinge and has a missing piece at the back; the base has a few small chips (see photos). These are objects that are over a century old...
They would, however, be charming in a collection display cabinet or a cabinet of curiosities.
Dimensions: the 1st: height 10.2 cm, width 4 cm, weight 75 g; the 2nd: height 10.4 cm, width 3.2 cm, weight 41 g.
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