A Pair of Patented Gilt Metal Mounted & Painted Glass Hanging Apothecary Display Carboys c.1891

Origin: Possibly American
Period: Late Victorian
Provenance: The Hutton Collection
Date: c.1891
Widths: 10”
Heights: 20” or 27” with chains (each)

The rare and unusual pair of hanging apothecary display carboys each of generous ovoid form and formed from thick hand-blown glass with swirling painted surfaces, one in a warm amber tone and the other in a deep malachite green, each mounted within a decorative gilt metal suspension collar with scalloped foliate mount and encircling stabilising band, from which three chains rise to a suspension ring, allowing the bottles to hang freely, the mottled painted surfaces of the glass create a richly mineral appearance reminiscent of onyx or malachite, and when illuminated the glass takes on a soft glowing quality that gives the pieces considerable sculptural presence, the wholes after a patent of June 16th 1891.

Both bottles show age and use consistent with their period. The painted glass retains its original finish with areas of light rubbing and surface wear that contribute to a pleasing time-softened patina. The metal mounts show oxidation and surface wear, particularly to the stabilising bands and interior surfaces of the collars, while the suspension chains remain intact. The collars are stamped “PAT. JUNE 16 1891”, indicating the mounts were manufactured under a late-19th-century patent designed to suspend heavy glass vessels safely by distributing the weight across the body of the bottle rather than the fragile neck.

Large coloured carboys such as these formed part of the visual language of the late nineteenth century chemist or apothecary shop. Displayed prominently in windows, sometimes filled with coloured liquids and sometimes painted to imitate them as in this case, they served as theatrical advertisements for the trade, catching and refracting daylight to create glowing signals visible from the street. Suspended examples allowed light to pass freely through the glass while conserving shelf space, and comparable display bottles are illustrated in Leslie G. Matthews’ reference work Antiques of the Pharmacy, which documents the decorative glassware historically associated with pharmacy interiors.

Today these scarce surviving examples stand as evocative relics of the Victorian and Edwardian pharmacy interior, with their sculptural mounts, richly coloured glass and patented suspension fittings, the pair possess a strong decorative presence and lend themselves equally well to being hung as originally intended or displayed as striking interior objects.