Oxford Lavender bottles have a variety of names and I'm not sure which is correct. Some people call them throwaway's, others "tear" or mourning bottles. I think the idea was that you caught the tears you shed when someone close died and stored them in these bottles. That sounds a little far fetched to me. I have seen them pictured in their original box with perfume inside. Whichever is correct I find them very interesting. This is a short one, only 11.5 cm but quite chunky and very nicely gilded. These seem to have been made since around 1870.
