Topic: finger bowl?

[bat20]

Hi all,it would not surprise me to get to get very little in the way of replies on this very understated little bowl,it's 9cm rim wd and 6.5 ht with a very polished pontil and a nice ring to it when flicked,i can't think what it would be for unless a finger bowl?many thanks..

[Ivo]

Correct. But almost impossible to figure out which service it is a part of.

[Paul S.]

I would agree with the finger bowl decision.                These things have been made for over 200 years, and they are found occasionally with backstamps by most of the big factories, which suggests those are C20 - although oddly they don't seem to 'travel' as much as other types of table glass  -  personally I've yet to find a non-English example  -   although obviously they are out there, as I've seen them on advertised on ebay, often.   
Sometimes they are seen with a snapped pontil scar, suggesting probably pre 1800   -   but most of the C19 examples will have a polished pontil depression like this one.                   Without a backstamp, attribution is virtually impossible, and they might have been made anywhere.
They come in ruby, cranberry, green, uranium, turquoise, pale amethyst, deep amethyest  -  cut, pressed, mould blown and every form of decoration you can imagine.
They make a good collecting theme, and don't take up too much space  -  I found a custard cup this morning that matched the machine acid etched pattern on one of my finger bowls, but not a clue as to who made them

[bat20]

thanks for the replies i'll keep an eye out for more now,it's a very tactile and the one i pick up the most,for a long time i thought it was Scandinavian but it just started to dawn on me it might be something different..

[Lustrousstone]

It's not a finger bowl at that small size!! Perhaps a salt

[Paul S.]

As this rings very well, then presumably quite thin  -  virtually all the salts I see are as thick as six short planks.           Just had a look at my finger bowls, and the smallest diameter example is a Thomas Webb piece from 1940 - 50  ish period, which measures 10 cms. - so not too far away.              Perhaps it was for young ladies with small delicate fingers

[Lustrousstone]

But how do you know its a finger bowl?

[Paul S.]

I only said "I agree", with Ivo             Of course I can't provide proof that it is/was, but it has the appearance of being one  -  at least more so than being a salt, which generally are smaller and much more chunky .           Off-hand I really can't think of what else it might be, although no doubt there are other uses for small bowls..............for sauce of some description perhaps?

However, I do agree, on reflection, that whilst there is some variation in size of finger bowls, this piece is a tad on the small size.         My examples vary from 100mm to 135mm, which assume covers 98% of sizes to be found.

[bat20]

Just to add a bit more info it is quite heavy, also you can get your fingers into it especially easy when you push your thumb against your fingers,hope this helps..

[Paul S.]

I don't think the shape helps really.            Most finger bowls have a shape that shows an incurved rim to some extent, only rarely are their rims flared (but they do exist).
But then again there are salts (especially older ones) with a similar shape (but they're smaller overall), but probably an equal amount with straight sides.
I think the jury will remain out on this one - perhaps permanently.