In the late 19th century and early 20th, several Venetian glass workshops and factories specialised in the production of handmade glass in the 'traditional Venetian style'. In some cases they copied existing historic examples very closely, and sometimes their work was so successful that it was soon being sold in antiques markets. There, such glasses were often purchased by collectors or museums as examples of 16th- or 17th-century glassmaking. This was the case with this bottle, which came to the V&A in 1936 as part of a large collection. Only recently has it been recognised as being a later copy of a pair of original 16th-century enamelled bottles in an Italian museum.