As women pursued more public lifestyles in the 1920s, the fashion and perfume industries grew. Fashion designers created specific scents to coincide with their new collections and paid great attention to the look of the bottles that contained them.
The stepped, faceted forms of these perfume bottles and their fan-shaped stoppers embody the pure geometry, bold color, and syncopated rhythm that characterized the modern style, now known as Art Deco. Markings on the underside of this set indicate that they were made in Paris and sold by Saks Fifth Avenue. In her later years, Elaine recalled that these sat in her adjoining bathroom, which Urban also designed. There are no visual records of the bathroom, but she remembered it was “also black.”
![A circular glass bottle with orange ombré coloring and a triangular pattern cut on its surface. Bottle stopper is a flat orange circle.](https://josephurban.cincyart.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/1999.12_a01_ps_20210723-258x300.jpg)
Vers le Jour Perfume Bottle
1925-26
René Jules Lalique (French, 1860-1945), designer
Glass
Gift of Faith and Sylvan Golder
1999.12a-b
![Rounded, translucent glass bottle with abstract dancing figures cut on its surface. Bottle stopper is a translucent glass dome.](https://josephurban.cincyart.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/1999.9_a01_ps_20210723-257x300.jpg)
Calendal Perfume Bottle
1929
René Jules Lalique (French, 1860-1945), designer
Glass
Gift of Faith and Sylvan Golder
1999.9a-b
![Pale green glass bottle with three-dimensional tulips cut on its surface. Stopper is pale green in the shape of a teardrop.](https://josephurban.cincyart.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/1999.10_a01_ps_20210723-256x300.jpg)
Jaytho: Méchant Mais Charmant Perfume Bottle
1927
René Jules Lalique (French, 1860-1945), designer
Glass
Gift of Faith and Sylvan Golder
1999.10a-b
![Transparent, vase-shaped glass bottle with a light blue and purple fan-shaped stopper.](https://josephurban.cincyart.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/20-21.63.2_a01_ps_20210723-224x300.jpg)
Guerlain: Shalimar Perfume Bottle
20th century
Baccarat Glasshouse (French est. 1764), manufacturer
Glass
Anonymous Loan
![Skinny green glass bottle with a pagoda-shaped stopper.](https://josephurban.cincyart.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/1999.11a-b_v01_o3-212x300.jpg)
Sans Adieu Perfume Bottle
1929
René Jules Lalique (French, 1860-1945), designer
glass
Gift of Faith and Sylvan Golder
1999.11a-b