Chinese Perfume Bottle with Squid Motif

A smoky crystal creature, coiled and curling, with a black stopper like a closed eye.

This perfume bottle with squid motif is from Hebei Province, China, and dates to the 19th century. It is carved rock crystal. Small bottles carved from stone and crystal were a refined Chinese craft, made for holding perfume or snuff, and sea creatures and animals are among the many shapes. This one is a low, rounded form with ridges and curls carved in relief along its body. The crystal is clear and smoky, with brown inclusions that run through it like ink. A black domed stopper sits at one end. It is 3 inches wide and 1.25 deep and high.

Ink, in a form that stays put.