Antique European “Case Gin” Bottle

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Description

When filled, this classic "black glass" piece, must have brought happiness to somebody, as it is an antique case gin … Read more When filled, this classic "black glass" piece, must have brought happiness to somebody, as it is an antique case gin bottle. Likely of Dutch origin, it dates from the mid-to-late 19th century and would have been used to hold roughly a pint or a fifth of spirits.
The four flat, tapering sides allowed such bottles to be packed snugly together inside wooden shipping crates (or "cases"). This minimized movement and breakage during long maritime trade voyages. The deep olive-green glass protected the alcohol inside from sunlight degradation.
The wavy lines, cooling ripples and tiny air bubbles trapped within the glass walls are hallmarks of a mouth-blown, mold-formed utility bottle.The prominent circular ring on the shoulder is a blank seal indentation. During manufacturing, glassblowers would often apply a molten "blob" or disk of glass here and stamp it with a distillery trademark or merchant name (such as A. Van Hoboken & Co. or Van Den Bergh & Co.). This specific bottle was left blank or un-stamped.
The crude, thick and slightly uneven collar at the mouth indicates an applied lip. The neck was sheared off after being hand-blown into a mold, and a separate string of molten glass was wrapped around the top to finish the rim.
The underside features a circular indentation known as a punt or kick-up. This design element caught sediment from the liquor and gave the bottle better structural integrity and balance.
The bottle’s mold-formed underside with a lack of a pontil mark points to a glass blowing innovation that first appeared around 1855. The underside's smoothness confirms the bottle was likely made between 1870-1890.
Signature/Maker’s mark: Nonexistent. See less