This is a clear glass attar bottle decorated in red, blue, green and gold enamelling. The term attar describes an essential oil extracted by distillation. The word comes from the ancient Persian atr jul meaning ‘fat of the flowers’. Attar bottles were made in England and Bohemia (present day Czech Republic) from coloured glass, often decorated with gilding and enamelling like this one. These small bottles were bought, containing scent, over the counter from chemists and perfumers and were often thrown away once they were empty. The bottles were also known as ‘throwaways’ and ‘Oxford Lavenders’. The bottles would contain attar (or otto) of roses, which is an expensive essential oil made from rose petals so would only be bought in small amounts.