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Object Timeline

1990

  • Work on this object began.

1998

  • We acquired this object.

1999

  • Work on this object ended.

2014

2015

2024

  • You found it!

Calyx Solid-perfume Container

This is a solid-perfume container. It was designed by Laura Handler and produced by Prescriptives. It is dated 1990s and we acquired it in 1998. Its medium is cast, polished, and enameled metal. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

This solid-perfume container’s gem-like qualities were influenced by Handler’s career as a jewelry designer for Cartier and Bergdorf Goodman. In 1993, Handler founded her own design firm in New York City, around which time she designed this container for Prescriptives’ “Calyx” solid perfume. The container’s surface, in light green enamel with ball-like protrusions, has the appearance of an exotic fruit, hinting at the contained perfume’s citrus notes.

This object was donated by Handler. It is credited Gift of Handler.

Its dimensions are

H x diam.: 3 × 3 cm (1 3/16 × 1 3/16 in.)

It has the following markings

Cast in underside of lid: PRESCRIPTIVES in raised oval surround.

Cite this object as

Calyx Solid-perfume Container; Designed by Laura Handler (American, b. 1954); Produced by Prescriptives (United States); USA; cast, polished, and enameled metal; H x diam.: 3 × 3 cm (1 3/16 × 1 3/16 in.); Gift of Handler; 1998-30-2

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18667411/ |title=Calyx Solid-perfume Container |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=19 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>