It's a chamber pot, no question at all, and it's not a small one. It was the one glaring omission from the Glass Circle's 1987
Strange & Rare exhibition and exhibition catalogue. Like most people I was astonished by their small size when I first saw one, but was reassured that their users where much smaller than us, their meat-rich diet produced less waste, and that daily practice rapidly develops the required accuracy.
The handle is known to us today as a
strap or
pump handle, started at the top and finished at the bottom, used up to about the end of the 19th century. Hajdamach dates the introduction of the more modern
dab handle to about 1867. There are expert members here who may be able to be more accurate with a date.
That finishing of the handle is not a pontil mark. You need to do some basic reading — a visit to your nearest main reference library or to the Broadfield House Glass Museum bookshop would be a good idea. Also a sensible name would help. Some members are uncomfortable replying to an anonymous questioner for a variety of reasons. I always have that nasty feeling that I could be replying to a known forger or copyright thief. However, on this occasion your pontil mark error establishes your innocence!
Bernard C.