Aqua Tofana, A Color Change Decorative Potion Bottle

Women of 17th century Europe were often forced to marry, and had little recourse against an abusive husband.  Well Giulia Tofana, an Italian woman, chose to do what she could, and what she could involved creating a colorless, odorless, and undetectable poison.  She sold it to women in bottles that resembled their cosmetics, or devotional bottles containing the images of St. Nicholas, so that the poison would go unnoticed by the victims. She helped create over 600 happy widows before she was caught and executed in 1676.  

The design of our own little bottle of (decorative) Aqua Tofana pays tribute to the original.

-Antique style embossed glass bottle is full of crystal clear potion that swirls to a dark and sinister blue with purple highlights that betrays one of the main ingredients: belladonna berries.

-Bottle is painted with aged silver stripes that accentuate the embossing.  

-Hand aged label features a 17th-century image of St. Nicholas and reads: Aqua Tofana Caution: Deadly.  It's sealed with water-resistant sealant for durability.

-Neck is wrapped in creamy crushed velvet ribbon held in place with an antique silver bead and finished with a purple floral wax seal that upon inspection is a bouquet of skulls rather than regular flowers.  Ribbon has been glued in place, so it doesn't have to be adjusted every time you shake it.

-Cork is sealed with waterproof glue and capped with an antique silver cap that's attached to the bead on the ribbon with textured chain.  Many cosmetic bottles of this period were finished in this way.