IPBA Perfume Bottles Auction Roars Into the 2020's!

On July 11th, “live” from New York, the Perfume Bottles Auction held its annual event remotely, with a stunning $634,061 result, and sell-thru rate of 94%. Museum and private interests drove the catalog cover lot – a highly desired presentation of the 1926 Baccarat black crystal “diamond” bottle for Isabey’s “Lys” – to a sparkling $54,000 finish.

With the original May 2020 auction date cancelled due to the global pandemic, a virtual auction was conducted live in real time, with no in-person audience. Over 500 bidders registered on two online bidding sites, 8 phone lines stayed continuously active, and due to competing order bids, many lots had soared above high estimate, even before the live bidding started. The normal 3 hour event stretched to 8 1/2 hours, underlining the strength of this particular collecting niche. In addition to returning advanced collectors, many enthusiastic new collectors went after very rare or unique items.

Celebrated Art Nouveau jewelry artists Rene Lalique and Lucien Gaillard turned their attention to perfume bottle design in the early 1900’s. In this auction, Lalique bottles inspired strong interest with a 1912 “Lepage” of two nudes motif selling for $12,000; a 1919 “Nenuphar” of Egyptian leaf pattern that fetched $19,200; a 1914 D’Orsay “Panier De Roses” in leather box that reached $11,400; and a 1929 Lucien Lelong “skyscraper” bottle with enameled metal case in unusually perfect condition sold for $21,250 – more than double it’s pre-sale estimate. Two rare Gaillard bottles offered were a 1911 design of insect-winged maidens for Violet’s “Furness” sold for $7,200; and the 1928 Clamy “Dans les Airs” molded with dragonflies in flight, which brought $27,000. This Art Nouveau masterpiece is highly sought after by collectors and very few are documented. One exists in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Other commercial highlights include a rare hand made wooden Mosque housing a four-handled ceramic bottle for the 1927 Bryenne “Mabrouka” sold for $9,000; a 1929 Julian Viard bottle in box sealed with original perfume for Delettrez “IX” which brought $27,000; a highly sought after artifact by perfume historians – the 1899 “Royal Emilia” bottle from Parfumerie Emilia and ancestor of the Caron brand, sold for $6,000; and what passionate film buffs vied for – the 1933 Gabilla “Mae West” that brought $5,100, and the 1939 “Gone With the Wind” themed presentations by Pinaud for “Bittersweet” & “Flirt” which went out at $10,200.