How old is this??

pigsntails · Dec 11, 2012

I dug this up in Perry Ga seems to be hand blown...

hamiddetecting · Dec 11, 2012

But nice!!

capt-zero · Dec 11, 2012

Welcome to t-net. I can't tell from your picture, but are there bubbles in the glass? The furnaces from before the early 20th were not able to control the heat well and this often resulted in bubbles in the glass. Also, is there a pontil mark on the bottom? A pontil mark is the mark left over from the glass blowing process. When the glass blower is done, he had to break it off from the tube that was holding the object in the fire. This will leave an obvious mark called a "pontil". However, before you get all excited about it's antiquity, I'm reminded of an incident where I got all excited about a bottle at my girlfriend's house, until she told she made it in a crafts course at the local university. In other words, old technology can be easily reproduced today. Nice bottle though, where did you get it?

pigsntails · Dec 11, 2012

I dug it up in Perry Ga is this what you were talking about??thanks for your response

capt-zero · Dec 11, 2012

Yes, that appears to be a pontil mark and bubbles are definately present. The glass was definately made with 100 year old technology, however, I can't give any more specific information. Since it doesn't have a makers mark or other means of indentification, you must rely on context. Namely, if dug up in Perry Ga. what was the age of the original structure around which it was dug? Was it dug from a former dump? Was there a local glassworks in the area you can look up for similar pieces? Questions like this can narrow the subject down and help identify a little information about it. However, it is likely you may never be able to specifically identify it like an old watch or an old gun. I collect antique bottles and glass like that and most of my collection I can't really identify, except the rough age and original use. Of course most of my stuff I get at garage sales and thrift shops. It will look real good on a shelf with other similar pieces though. Good luck!