[H]6.0cm __[L]5.8cm (Base) __[W]5.8cm (Base) __[Th] __[Diam]1.2cm (Neck)
An aqua "umbrella ink" bottle or well that is conical in shape with an octagonal base. The walls around the base are vertical for about 1.0cm before the eight sides slope upward toward the neck. The neck is broken off fairly close to the shoulders, but the remnants suggest it was cylindrical in shape and potentially slightly flared. The shoulders are rounded where they connect to the sloped sides. The base of the ink bottle is somewhat concave, and there is a pontil mark or scar indented in its center. It is surrounded by a small ring of glass with raw edges. Much of the surface of the well is iridescent, and some of these layers are flaking off across the inner walls and base alongside some moderate dirt and white residue. There are no cracks in the glass aside from the broken neck portion.
This style of ink well is commonly referred to by collectors as an “umbrella” ink bottle, but it can also be called “pyramid”, “fluted pyramid”, or “fluted cone stands” by glassmakers. The conical shape in general first originated in the US in the 1830s, and the umbrella style is thought to have been made as early as the 1840s. It was the most popular style of small ink wells until around the 1870s, losing popularity from a shift to the ring shoulder cone style ink bottle. The umbrella style is known to have variations in shape and colour, but the most common was eight sided and aqua.
Exemplified here and throughout the glass in this exhibit is the iridescent quality characteristic of many archaeological bottles. Though visually captivating, the effect is a result of chemical reactions and underground conditions. The conditions of the soil can cause a prism-like effect when very thin layers are created on the surface that may separate or flake off.
