Topic: Square glass decanter help please.

[brucebanner]

Any thoughts on this recent charity shop find welcome, i'm confident it has some age as the cuts are sharp and there is heavy wear to the base. The sides are cut and polished and it looks really well made. The stopper is the same grey colour as the bottle, same cuts and similar pattern and a good fit though it does has a very tiny wobble.

9 1/2 inches in height and 3 inches across the base, regards Chris.

[Paul S.]

probably for spirits Chris, and either from a frame square or a tantalus - in earlier times known as a spirit square, I think.
Wooden frames, or a lockable tantalus, made to contain usually two or three identical bottles, with the plain lower undecorated part showing how far up the bottle the wooden gallery extended - below which you wouldn't have seen the glass so no point in taking the cutting right to the base of the bottle.              For brandy, whiskey and gin etc.
You don't say if either the bottle or stopper have Nos. - I would have thought post 1850 (Regency examples tend to have a wide but shallow depression under the base, rather than a star like yours -  but could also be later and into the C20 perhaps - there was so much copying.             If there's evidence of matching Nos. I'd have thought more likely late C19 to early C20, but really not sure.          You're lucky if there isn't any cloudiness.

The stopper has me confused - doesn't have the lighter more delicate lines of art nouveau - so either earlier or perhaps later and into the C20.    If it does wobble then likely to be a replacement.

sorry the date aspect is rather vague.

[brucebanner]

No matching numbers, interesting about the lower half not been decorated, thanks Paul.

[Paul S.]

having looked in Wilkinson, where he discusses date lines for variations on the star cut bases, he gives c. 1830 for the 16 point star, such as this one  ..........   although again we must always be cautious of later copies.
Unfortunately, almost no one else seems to offer opinions on decanters/bottles, which a shame - multiple thoughts are usually better than just mine........   but, I'll do the head on block bit and suggest this is a little earlier than I'd first commented  -  perhaps 1830 - 40 ish, although I'm still a little unsure of the stopper.

quite why this one should have extensive wear to the base - assuming it had been intended originally for a frame or square - I'm not sure - although seems fairly obvious it may well have spent much time as a stand alone bottle.

If you have a copy of Wilkinson you'll see what I mean.

[brucebanner]

Not got the book, what is the full title I'll see if I can get one online.

[Paul S.]

'The Hallmarks of Antique Glass'  -  R. Wilkinson  -  it shouldn't cost you an arm and a leg.

Can be useful, depending on the type of glass you collect  -  always irritates me that it lacks an index, but I've yet to meet a book that couldn't tell me something I didn't know, and there's no doubt Wilkinson was very knowledgeable  -  on certain aspect of older cut glass, in particular.

would repeat again though, must remember a lot of antique styles have been reproduced  -  so any one feature needs to be corroborated by others, when assessing age  

[Baked_Beans]

I would imagine the stopper would also have a sixteen point star (on the top) to match the cut on the base. The stopper might have come from one of the other two missing bottles if it doesn't quite fit.....just a thought.