The characteristic mark in the center of a weight's base, where the weight was separated from the rod on which it was made.
a rough mark in the center of the base of a blown glass object where the pontil rod was attached; usually ground and polished from the 1860s onward.
The scar left on the base of a free-blown, mold-blown and some early pressed glass by the pontil or punty rod. The hot glass object was attached at the base to the pontil rod so the glassworker could more easily handle it during the final shaping and finishing. When snapped off the pontil a round scar remained which, on finer quality pieces, was polished smooth.
When a rod is removed from a piece of glass during the hand-blowing process, it leaves a mark on the bottom. The mark is often left rough, so there's a scar or a raised area where the glass separated from the rod. Some artists make a pontil smooth.
scar on the bottom of the bottle, usually a rough circular glass mark. It was made by the punty rod that held the glass for the glassblower. If the scar was rough, it is called an open pontil; if it is smoothed out, it is called a ground pontil or refired pontil depending on which was the smoothing was done. Date pre 1850s. After the 1850's, a new type of punty rod was developed that left a mark known as a iron pontil. This mark is round and smooth and left an iron reside on the base which turned red if it rusted. See examples of the different types of pontil marks.
