Featured Small antique molded glass bottle. Middle East? Further East?

I bought this little darling because of that beautiful cobalt blue.
The seller called it 'a Persian snuff bottle', probably because of the Persian-like cobalt and the shape and size of the bottle, reminiscent of Chinese snuff bottles. It is 5.5 cm / 2.16" high. I don't recognize this as a Chinese snuff bottle, of which I have a few hundred.
The swirls are probably a feature of a lot of molded glass. So far I have looked at Persian glass, Syrian glass, fake Chinese 'Roman glass', nothing like it.
The seller lives in a part of The Netherlands with a strong connection to the VOC (Dutch East India Company) and sells a lot of Indonesian antiques that came to this country with returned or resettled families. I don't know of any bottle like this from Indonesia, but the swirls do remind me of Javanese jatim glass.
It is very tactile, feels like it has been handled for centuries.
Any ideas of origin, period and use? Perfume bottle? If Middle Eastern, it could also be a kohl bottle.
Thanks for looking.

 

The glass does look old to me but I would like to 'feel' it.

Reminds me of the marbles we played with many moons ago.

 

Anytime you're in The Netherlands.

I know what you mean, and you could watch those swirls roll for hours...

 

Why do you say molded? It looks blown to me with the frit color manipulated in while still on the pipe.

 

I thought the same regarding marbles.

 

I agree, not moulded at all. It's also very like scent flask bottles made in Nailsea. There were similar made on Murano, but I'd expect the glass to be a bit thinner.

 

Based upon the clues I believe you have a really nice example of a 19th century American or English perfume bottle meant to hang from a ladies chatelaine. I think the neck of the bottle was broken at the point where the bottle was connected to the chain.
The material is commonly known as Slag glass, or Agate (which explains why marbles are sometimes called "Aggies"). Slag glass was made by adding the waste material left over from melting or refining of iron ore. In the 19th century the U.S. and Great Britain were the leading industrial countries and produced an abundance of slag so I think its safe to assume your bottle was made here. I have included an example of an intact bottle.
If you are not sure what a chatelaine I've included a link below.

http://www.earthlyadornments.com/an...ing-italian-glass-perfume-bottle-pdvc458.html

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/the-killer-mobile-device-for-victorian-women/

 

It's not always made from adding waste iron ore, Walter. Davidson and some other English makers simply mixed coloured glasses.

Good article here:

http://www.glassencyclopedia.com/slagglass.html

I think this may be a bit earlier than the 19th. The feathering is a bit uneven and it's thick.

 

Thanks everyone, that explains a lot. So now I have to find a nice silver collar and lid. Finding one that fits will take years, if I ever do.

Yes, the uneven feathering and the thickness of the glass threw me a bit off scent.
When it comes to antique European glass I am used to Venetian and Dutch, which is usually much more controlled and thin-walled. And the 'Persian snuff bottle' description probably influenced my search too much.

 

I don't know enough about the subject to counter but since chatelains did not become popular as jewelry until the early 19th century and slag glass came into common use during the mid 1800's I would date the piece between mid 19th and early 20th century.

 

In The Netherlands chatelaines were used from the 16th century onwards. This one dates from about 1680 and was made in Friesland, the province where the seller of my bottle lives:



http://www.geheugenvannederland.nl/nl/geheugen/view?identifier=NOMA01:HM5821

 

But it is always nice to have a goal in life, neh?

 

Yup, chatelaines were in use here in Elizabethan times.

Your bottle may not have been for a chatelaine, though, they also exist as standalones.

I really would not call that slag, thinking about it. If you look at the cross section, if it were slag, it would be marbled all the way through. As George says, coloured frit picked up on the gather.

 

I think Walter is on to something with the chatelaine perfume.
But I don't think it is English, as it is too heavy, nor as fine as the glass makers there were producing.
I think more mid to late 1800s Venitian glass. What bothers me is that it is not polished and somewhat crude, not really satin. Does it appear to have been buried?

English chatelaine perfumes:
https://www.google.com/search?q=eng...YyYKHaa-DfMQ_AUICSgC&biw=1287&bih=890#imgrc=_

Italian/Venice glass chatelaine perfumes:
https://www.google.com/search?q=cha...&q=Italian+glass+chatelaine+perfume&*&imgrc=_

There appear to be a few satin ones if you scroll down:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/502221795925230659/

 

The other thing that bothers me is that little swirl of yellow.

 

Exactly, cluttered, mine doesn't look nearly as refined, thin-walled, and smooth as the examples online.

 

That's why I think it's a lot older than the 19th.

 

What about the black (charcoal?) particles?

 

I couldn't tell what those were.
Part of the reason I was asking if you thought it might have been buried?

 

Bits of grit picked up in the gather. Quite common. Won't be charcoal, that would vaporise.