Small Ceramic Bottle, Denbac (France), 1930's

When I first saw this, I thought it was a tiny vase meant for one flower (what the French call a ‘vase soliflore’), but it is actually a very small bottle (6.5 cm / 2.5 in)! It is supposed to look like an acorn and is decorated with a crystalline glaze in mauve and green. There is no mark or signature (only an illegible number, perhaps 422), but there is no doubt that it was made at Denbac, a pottery named after the founders, potter René Denert (1871-1937) and merchant René-Louis Balichon (1885-1949). Denbac was founded around 1910 in Vierzon about 200 km south of Paris and closed in 1952.

Between 1910 and 1938 the Pottery collaborated with the Garnier Distillery founded in 1859 (closed in 1974), producing numerous different types of ceramic miniature bottles for Garnier. In fact, Garnier seems to have been known for its huge variety of novelty bottles which are - of course, I am tempted to say! - collectors' items today. They were made at different potteries (not only Denbac). This type of bottle was made with different glazes, and this particular colour was meant for crème de menthe! If you wish to see the bottle with its original label, you can find it in the online Miniature Bottle Library:

http://www.minibottlelibrary.com/mbl/alpha/garnier/jugs-fruits-urns/index.html