Perfume bottle by Grayson Perry

From: Museum & Art Swindon

An early work by renowned artist Grayson Perry, featuring a perfume bottle and four stoppers.

Grayson Perry's early perfume bottle from 1985

The perfume bottle is an early work by Grayson Perry, dating from 1985, only a few years after he began working with clay. Grayson started out as a ceramist before expanding into other applied media. 

The outside of the bottle features poppy designs and the phrase “Reminiscence/ Perfume of the Mistresses” in French. 

The bottle is accompanied by four stoppers, including one shaped like the Arum Lily berry, a winged skull (a nod to Harley Davidson and bike culture), and the heads of Queen Elizabeth I and a Chinese Empress. 

Close up of three of the stoppers - Perry_Bottle Stoppers & Swindon Museum & Art Gallery / Swindon Borough Council
The perfume bottle fitted with the winged skull stopper - Grayson Perry V7 & Swindon Museum & Art Gallery / Swindon Borough Council
The Grayson Perry perfume bottle with its four stoppers
The Grayson Perry perfume bottle with its four stoppers - Grayson Perry V1 & Swindon Museum & Art Gallery / Swindon Borough Council

Curator’s Insights

From the very beginning of his career, Grayson Perry showed an interest in pop culture and subverting different forms, as evidenced by the perfume bottles. As an artist he has always been popular, but in recent years, he has become better known to a wider audience by hosting a lockdown ‘Art Club’. 

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