I found this carafe the other day thinking it was a modern looking lampbase. I soon realised it was a rather large carafe in thick glass with facet cutting all over. Because the shape is globe and shaft I assumed it would date from around the 1850s, but I am now wondering if that is an accurate date. There are a number of features which make me think it might be older. The general size is unlike anything I have seen from the Victorian period, 23cm tall, 5cm diameter at the neck and 15cm diameter for the body. I don't think it is a magnum decanter as there wouldn't be a lot of room to breathe. The scale and shape is more like a mid-18th century globe and shaft serving bottle.
The facet cutting combined with the flute cut top section of the neck also seems earlier (similar to mid-18th century cruet bottles). It seems to lack the refinement of a Victorian facet cut decanter - in terms of thickness of glass and fineness of cutting.
The feature which suggests a Victorian date is the flat cut bottom with a small star cut where the pontil would be - I don't know when they started to cut decanter bases - although I have now found a source from the V&A which shows a 1744 decanter with cut base and an extract from the original purchase order referring to "decanters with 'cutt bottoms'" -
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O249965/decanter-and-stopper/?print=1#I'm not necessarily suggesting that this is a mid 18th century globe and shaft carafe, but I am interested by the conflicting signs.
I have attached photos, but unfortunately the carafe is in use at the moment so I will post more when it is empty. I have also attached a photo showing it compared to a more normal sized wine decanter (althoug I don't really have any ordinary decanters).
Of course it could just be a mid 19th century carafe. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg311/jok23/101_0262.jpghttp://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg311/jok23/101_0260.jpghttp://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg311/jok23/101_0263.jpghttp://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg311/jok23/101_0268.jpg