mystery bottle

[dixiedeerslaya]

hello. this is my first post on the site, looks like a great site. i have had this bottle for about 6 years and still dont have a clue what it is... it really doesn't appear to be a bottle... it was found in a 1870-1880 trash pit along with many other bottles...

the top appears to be grinded or cut off... its made of very thick glass and the bottom is slightly rounded, enough to where you cant stand it up...no embossing at all.. any body have a clue? hopefully i will leave this forum with an answer

 

[dixiedeerslaya]

hope these pics work

 

[dixiedeerslaya]

another

 

[dixiedeerslaya]

another

 

[dixiedeerslaya]

whats a pestal? is that the thing you grind stuff up with in a bowl?.. i thought that one time but why would it by made of glass? why would it have a hole in the top? man i hope somebody knows what this is

 

[bubbas dad]

i would think the hole is where they made ot hollow to keep the weight down. a solid piece of glass that size would be alot of weight just to use for that.

 

[dixiedeerslaya]

the hole removes no weight tho... it was already hollow just like a bottle but it was grinded down to make a hole... i dont think it is a bottle... but i dont know what it is.. its got alot of case wear around the out side but none on the bottom like i would think it would have if it was used to grind up stuff.... it has no mold seams at all....and feels hand made... but no other bottles in the pit were hand made.. just bimal and three piece molds...

it looks like this thing was originally made to have no opening... just be a solid object ( to hold liquid or not) and then later the top was grinded off to remove whatever was in it??? i dunno... just some of my thoughts over the years

 

[capsoda]

Welcome to the fourm Adam. It is a pestal used in baking. It would have been used to crush spices like nutmeg or nuts and to powder coco. That type of glass item along with alot of other specialty items used by cooks, doctors and pharmacists were still being hand blown into the early 1900s so your date would likely be correct. It wouldn't normally have scrathes because it was made to crush and grind softer materials. The scratches on the sides would be from laying it on it's side during periods of non use.

 

[GuntherHess]

You see some old rolling pins that are made like that, you could fill them with hot or cold water. The closure on the end may of got damaged and they ground it to make it safer to use. I havent seen one like it.

 

[dixiedeerslaya]

hey that might make since.. the wear on the bottle is in the areas that would be in contact with a table if it was sit on its side....its still weird tho.... its one of my favorite bottles.. its probably worth less but its just been a mystery for so long... its an interesting find