Topic: And tonight's mystery object is ?

[flying free]

Info on linen smoothers here:

http://www.theglassmakers.co.uk/pdffiles/linensmoothers.pdf

Mine is possibly 19th century. It's extremely heavy - weighs a ton.  It's a cross between top right and middle left examples on page 4.  It has a horizontal ribbed very thick handle.  Worn matt smooth at the bottom and came from Scotland.

It looks like this one but hasn't been buried so is sheeny black with very worn matt middle of the underneath base.

https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/can-you-solve-three-mysteries-archive



There is also this one on this museum website - :

http://www.futuremuseum.co.uk/collections/people/lives-in-key-periods/archaeology/early-medieval-%28400ad-1099ad%29/vikings/domestic/linen-smoother,-gribdae-farm.aspx

Here is some research I made into the Gribdae Farm linen smoother:
https://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,64233.msg359961.html#msg359961

[Ekimp]

Essi says there is a polished pontil mark, so if that is concave it might make it unsuitable for pressing things like pastry or burgers?

[chopin-liszt]

Indeed, and thanks for pointing that out.
I got carried away. 

[Ekimp]

It was the thought of burgers with shortbread after

[NevB]

A lid for a tobacco or pharmacy jar?

[essi]

Thanks for the links to the linen smoothers information.
I had a look at glass jar lids earlier and they all seem to have a certain diameter on the base to fit into the jar.
what ever this is,it does not seem to have had a hard life. wear on the outer ring of the base but no other marks or blemishes.
That was a reason why i did not think it was an ashtray.
It does not have the look of an old item of glass, but who would be making linen smoothers in the last 50 or 60 years?
The item weighs 1.072 kgs/ 2 lbs 6 ounces.
Tim

[flying free]

That's heavy.

I just think the short knop doesn't work for linen smoothing.  Ergonomically I can understand a) a very old slickstone (one with no handle),hand held from top and well controlled, and b) one with a long handle like the ones I've shown, gripped around the handle so able to be well controlled, but with the short knop you'd be holding it between thumb and forefinger and I think that would be uncomfortable to use or gripping the knop and that wouldn't give you enough pressure and would be really tiring to use.

A puzzle

[chopin-liszt]

Dragging myself away from food  what about something for pressing the paper over an etched something to make prints? In the absence of a pressing machine. Or the thing for spreading the ink or paint on the etched/scratched something? Perhaps for something more like Lino cuts than copper etching.

[flying free]

If the top of the knop is completely flat then I think this could be a pipe knocker.

no idea if this really is a pipe knocker but here's another example;
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1113721185/vintage-lead-crystal-cut-glass-pipe

m

[essi]

Thanks again for the interest shown. Sue, there are some very similar looking items that are used for pigment making .
They are called mullers. These have a flat surface on the base for grinding the powders. My pontil mark rules this item out as a muller.
M, very good spot on that pipe stand. Looking at my glass again it does have a slight flat at the top.
Sorry about the poor quality photo's.
Tim