Glass bottle stands

[Enodia]

i'm wondering if anyone can point me to a dealer who sells the plastic (lucite?) stands which one often sees supporting ancient glass bottles (unguentaria and the like)?

i have tried searching museum suppliers, display manufacturers, etc, and have even contacted a few dealers who sell the bottles, but so far to no avail.
i have a cheap metal stand now which i purchased from an antique dealer, but it is not very secure and i don't trust it to withstand even the slightest bump. unfortunately he knew of no place that sells what i am looking for, so i'm hoping somebody here might have a connection.

thank you in advance,
~ Peter

[commodus]

I had to resort to making them myself. The acrylic can be gotten at craft supply stores in sheets of varying thickness. A sturdy ruler, an exacto knife, and super glue are the other supplies necessary.
It is rather a hassle but it works.

[Enodia]

i had tried something similar myself, using a small oak base with a dimple drilled into it, and a metal skewer with a round handle bent to 90 degrees set in, with ribbon wrapped around the loop. i wasn't too pleased with the result though.

perhaps i will try again using your method. i'm sure i can find the supplies rather easily.

and thanks for your reply! 

~ Peter

[commodus]

I wasted a lot of acrylic, a small amount of blood, and superglued my fingers together a couple times before I got a result I was happy with.
So... best of luck.
I know I, for one, don't plan to take up making these things professionally!

[Mark Z]

Question to both:

Do you have pics of the end result?

I am considering a purchase of ancient glass and this was the first thing that crossed my mind.

Thanks!

mz

[commodus]

Do you have pics of the end result?

I haven't checked this topic in a while. I'll take a shot at photographing examples and will post them if the pictures are decent. I don't know if it is too late with regard to your purchase decision. I bought most of my Roman glass items before I had any way to display them and kept them carefully packed in cotton in a box until I did. I have a couple of ancient bottles with flat bases that will stand upright without support, much like a modern bottle, but such vessels are definitely the exception, rather than the rule.

I've seen a few artifacts of this sort offered for sale with stands included, which is definitely a plus in my book.

[leetoone]

I have used circular stands that are sold in mineral shops to displays "eggs" shaped out of various mineral samples. They seem to do the job for my small jars but it depends on diameters and lengths of the "pointy" bits at the bottom. 

http://www.mineralcraft.com/acatalog/Stone_Egg_Sphere_Stands.html

I guess Joe could get some in stock if they were suitable.

[Joe Sermarini]

I actually purchased some stands for inventory but, based on the number of coins I have received lately and my intent to go on vacation soon, it may be a couple months before I can add them to the catalog. 

[Mark Z]

commodus/lee/joe,

i have not made my purchase yet as i was hoping for a response to this post, and i got three

ideally, at least for me, would be a stand like lee shows with a glass or plexiglass type of cover sitting on a base of some sort, like wood, for example. maybe it would have an arm that comes up in the back to which the neck of the glass could be loosely tied so that it is essentially immovable. i would hate to get something like that and then have the all-too-predictable earthquake happen here in SoCal and have it go over.

thanks for your responses!

mz

[commodus]

Here are pictures of the basic types of some of my stands.

The first shows two made using acrylic bases about 2 inches square. Each is drilled with a hole about 1 to 2 cm in from the side which will be the back and fitted with a stiff wire bent and formed to both brace and hold the vessel. Each wire apparatus is custom fitted to the vessel to be mounted.

The second shows the same two stands with the vessels in place. At left is a small Etruscan jar hooked to the wire and set on the stand; same type of stand can be used for glass bottles as well; this one was just readily at hand. To the right is a Roman (perfume?) bottle set on its stand. The forked portion of the wire apparatus holds the mouth in place and the little ridge (made from a toothpick cut to size and painted black then mounted to the acryllic square) keeps the base of the bottle in place. Both vessels can easily be removed from the stand but the stand holds them upright and in place when on display.

The third photo shows a commercially made brass stand from a mineral shop of the sort leetoone describes. These come in a variety of sizes for displaying stone eggs and orbs but can just as easily be used for bottles, such as the imperial era Roman jar I am using it for in the photograph.

[Mark Z]

Damn, that's clever! and nice workmanship, too.

What kind of wire is that? A coat hanger? The same gauge as a coat hanger?

Is there any sort of padding where the metal/acrylic meets the glass? Do you suggest that?

After looking at these, it comes to mind to wonder why the perfume bottle, for example, did not have a flat bottom so it could be stood up. Did they have some sort of hollowed-out base to put them on at the time?

Anyway, I think I see my way clear to setting up something like this.

Commodus, thanks for taking the time

mz

[commodus]

Thanks!
The wire is smaller gauge than a coat hanger but of similar stiffness and pliability. It can be obtained at a hardware store. I drilled the acryllic with a bit the same size as the wire's thickness and then set the wire into with a drop of superglue in the hole first, wiping off the excess with a damp cloth immediately so it doesn't mar the acryllic. The acryllic can be enamelled also, as I did with the stand on the left. The wire part I custom fitted first, before mounting it, bending it into shape with a couple pair of pliers using the dimensions of the vessel to be displayed.
I imagine the ancients had to have kept the bottles in some sort of stand. Whether small, like these, or large like amphorae, the Romans (and Greeks and other Mediterranean peoples) made a LOT of vessels, both glass and earthenware, with rounded or pointed bases. They just weren't thinking ahead to how difficult it would be for us, 2,000 years or so later, to display them!

[Mark Z]

I wonder, have any of those stands survived?

mz

[commodus]

Perhaps, though I know of none. It stands to reason that some would have, but I've never seen one. I'm really only speculating that they even existed because logic suggests they must have.

[leetoone]

I remember seeing somewhere, holes dug into rock or stone that was part of a building where they would stand wine amphorae. I guess something on a smaller scale would do for smaller bottles. I'll try and find a pic.

[Enodia]

i always imagined, for unguentaria anyway, something like a test-tube rack. either that or they just laid them down, assuming they were securely corked.

btw, nice holders commodus. this is what i had in mind but never got around to.
i was going to use an oak base with a dimple drilled in to secure the bottom, and possibly one of those sticky felt circles one uses on the bottom of lamps, etc. the upright was a kabob skewer with a circular handle which i bent to 90 degrees and wrapped in ribbon (although i considered some of that clear plastic tubing used in fish tanks and the like). THAT part i got done anyway, and maybe i'll get to the rest eventually. by then maybe Joe will list his and save me the effort.   

hopefully,
~ Peter

[wandigeaux (1940 - 2010)]

A shallow, open box filled with fine sand would have worked.  Just work the pointy end of a bottle into the sand and Bob's your uncle.  Evidence?  I don't have to show you no stinking evidence.  Cheers, George S.

[commodus]

btw, nice holders commodus.

Thanks. I've done some others as well, but this is the basic type. I haven't made any in quite some time. I don't plan to go into the display stand business; those I've done were enough! 

[Mark Z]

Hello Friends,

I wanted to revive this thread not only due to its content but also to illustrate the flattery I felt due to the caliber of the FORVM members who were kindly helping me with my conundrum. 

In that regard, a tip of the cap to Eric Brock (commodus), Lee Toone, Peter (enodia) and George (Wandigeaux).

It took me a while (over two years, in fact) but I finally resolved my problem with displaying my recently purchased ancient glass (from FORVM).

Please take a look

Regards,

mz

[Aarmale]

Very nice case!

[Mark Z]

Very nice case!

Thanks!

It's something I found online at a site that sells these in various sizes for storing one's doll collection.  Hence, the hook.

BTW, I decided to leave the hook in and attached the bottle to the hook with a piece of thread to prevent tipping.

mz

[Aarmale]

Thanks!

It's something I found online at a site that sells these in various sizes for storing one's doll collection.  Hence, the hook.

BTW, I decided to leave the hook in and attached the bottle to the hook with a piece of thread to prevent tipping.

mz

It's very creative!  I always surprises me to what great lengths we collectors go to improvise.

[Steve E]

I think you found the perfect display solution!!!

Maybe finish it off with a engraved brass plate


Great job!!!

~Steve

[quadrans]

Hi Mark,

Congrat it is a very creative solution...
nice

 
quadrans

[Mark Z]

Steve and Q,

I thank you

Hadn't thought of a brass plate but that's a pretty good idea.

Something else I have added is Mr. Malloy's little ID slip of paper that I found inside the bottle and fished out with a tweezers. It's right in front. It would look more finished if there were a circle of glass under the bottle to hold the slip of paper in place and flat.

I was looking at the curvature of the hook and another thought popped into my head a little while ago: Push the brass hook down a little more into its hole so that it just fits in the mouth of the bottle. I bent it forward a little to clear the side of the bottle and I got rid of the little piece of thread.

I taped the little informative slip of paper from FORVM on the bottom underneath.

Viola!

I wish Eric Brock was here to see it.

mz

p.s. couldn't get a sharp pic for some reason.