Dear Helaine and Joe: I have three perfume bottles. The two small bottles have numbers scratched on the glass, 948 and 770. The taller one is numbered 452. What are they worth? — G.W., Indianapolis
Dear G.W.: The issue with these three bottles is whether they are silver deposit or silver overlay. Some references say that these two terms are interchangeable, but collectors interested in this type of ware know differently.
Silver deposit is a process that deposits silver on glassware using a chemical process. The decoration is often similar to what is seen on G.W.'s bottles, but the metal is extremely thin and is easily worn away.
Silver overlay, on the other hand, has a cut-out sterling silver design overlaid on top of the glass surface. The silver in this process is much thicker than it is in silver deposit and much less prone to damage.
Silver overlay is generally viewed as a high-quality luxury product, while silver deposit is an imitation that is normally shunned by serious collectors.
G.W.'s bottles appear to be silver overlay, and the clues to this are the substantial silver band around the neck and throat of the bottles and the wide, flat bands that make up part of the design.
Both silver overlay and silver deposit have been made since the late 19th century, but it should be noted that the Romans sometimes blew glass into silver cages. In the modern world, silver overlay and silver deposit were made primarily in Bohemia (Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia), England and the United States.
On silver overlay examples, American pieces generally have the word "sterling" on them, while specimens of English origins are marked with a series of hallmarks that will include the image of a lion. Pieces made in other European countries are seldom marked.
The three bottles in today's question with their lobed bodies and flame stoppers are probably Bohemian and were probably made in the first quarter of the 20th century. The sensual curvings of the silver bands signify that these were executed in the Art Nouveau style, and few pieces made with this type of design were made after 1920 (most were made before 1910).
The most valuable silver overlay items have colored glass for a base, and clear, colorless glass examples such as these are somewhat less expensive. The larger of G.W.'s trio of bottles was designed to hold cologne or toilet water, while the two smaller containers were meant for perfume.
The numbers on the stoppers are there so that tops and bottoms can be correctly mated.
A three-piece set such as this one has a wide appeal to collectors, and its insurance replacement value is between $1,000 and $1,200 for the set.
Helaine Fendelman is feature editor at Country Living magazine, and Joe Rosson writes about antiques at The Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee. Questions can by mailed to them at P.O. Box 12208, Knoxville, TN 37912-0208.