Dimensions: 9 3/4″ tall, 3 3/4″ wide and 2 1/2″ deep

Bottle Markings: no markings, rectangular quart-sized bottle

This bottle shows three crosses, Jesus and the two thieves; the bodies are whittled and painted, but there are also cutout figures, including a large one of the head of Mary at the foot of the cross. The most unusual feature is that the top, back and sides of the bottle are painted black and red to make the bottle more like a shrine. It is signed “Chas. Worner, Hanau a Main” but not dated. This is the same artist who is more known for his saloon bottles. I place this earlier than the saloons based on the subject matter and the fancy painting of the glass and the place name of Hanau. He was, I believe, a German immigrant to America from Hanau, a city near Frankfurt on the Main River. After arriving in the United States, he made at least three other religious bottles, but by at least 1900, he was making his trademark scenes, mostly saloons. If he brought this one with him from Germany, it is certainly the earliest known of his many works. Links to his non-religious bottles are on the first page of Scenes; the other religious bottles are one in a Norwalk, CT, bottle, one dated 1890, and a large unsigned and undated one.