Topic: Unusual carafe ?

[rose de verre]

Hello
Would any agree that this is a carafe ? British/Irish IMHO, anybody agree ? It is very light, with a few large bubbles here and there, it is not ground for a stopper which is why I suppose its a carafe, it has a design around it of leaves - vine ? - and squiggles, not smooth etching but granular,it has the pontil  mark pictured, I'd say it had some age, and its a bit unusual, any thoughts ?   

[Lustrousstone]

Could be from anywhere, including Scotland. This fairly crude engraving is often found up there

[Paul S.]

The base appears to be showing the result of a snapped pontil i.e. a scar rather than a neatly ground/polished depression.              This might indicate either a very crude cheap piece of work where there was no attempt made to hide the scar (accommodated by the slight kick in the base) - or perhaps a sign of a much earlier piece which might fit in with the crude wheel engraving.
I think we've discussed before that these noticeably circular scars are possibly of Continental origin, where a hollow pontil rod was used sometimes, rather than a solid one.            However, this is just my opinion when looking at this piece  -  it may well be Irish or Scottish or English and have been attached to a solid rod.

Aside from anything esle, the very wide neck opening confirms this as a carafe, and possibly the utility aspect might indicate a pub/tavern piece.
Obviously for wine in view of the vine leaf.

What is the colour of the glass?            Nice piece by the way.

[rose de verre]

Hi
Thanks. Forgot to give size - this little thing is only 6 inches high, 4.5 across, also forgot that there is a second mark to the neck - now pictured - blackened, like the pontil scar,is it a gadget mark ? Slightly ! better pic of whole piece below, showing mark to neck and inside base which has a small kick. The glass is clear, very marked striations running horizontally all the way down the neck, shoulders have three large - half inch - tear shape bubbles in the glass. Neither a ring nor a thud when tapped, more of a tinkle. Soda glass ?
All the best

[Paul S.]

the black marks are simply impurities that have found their way into the batch - pieces like this are a long way from having any quality, and the inclusion of a little carbon/dirt from the pot or the floor wasn't presumably seen as a problem.
A small carafe like this wouldn't have involved using the gadget  -  it was blown and then a pontil iron attached to the base in order to finish the top.           Gadgets were used on drinking glasses only, I believe, mostly during the last quarter of the C19 - which may have been after this carafe was made  -  but that date line is my opinion only  -  as with so many of these smaller utility low grad pieces, accurate dating is not easy.
Attached is a pic showing a similar situation on the neck of a vinegar/oil condiment bottle (which also has bubbles and a snapped pontil).

The carafe might be soda glass  -  although the books suggest there is a slightly brownish, yellowish or greeny-grey colour if it is.            Potash glass looks brighter, is harder and is less plastic, but not a subject I really know.          I expect there's a way of differentiating the two.

The carafe is dinky though - and I was going to suggest it might be simply for an individual serving at table  -  there are records of English examples, with wheel engraving that are this size.                But there's a limit to how much information can be assessed from a piece like this, unless you can find a specialist.             Age wise possibly the middle third of the C19, which is a bit like say 80 - 120 (a euphemism for I don't really know)
 

[Paul S.]

would help if I added the pic.