Today Ray was doing some yard cleanup and in the process of retrieving some debris from the creek, he found these two items buried in the mud at the bottom of the creek. How mysterious! I wonder how long they have been there and how they got there. Both are in perfect condition aside from being quite filthy. The glass paperweight (?) cleaned up pretty easily. The bottle is still quite dirty on the inside. I am soaking it in some vinegar and baking soda. I tried using a bottle brush, which dislodged a lot of gunk, but did not get it entirely clean as you can see. Hard to tell how old these things are or how long they have been there. There are no identifying marks on either. The heavy glass object is quite beautiful. It is a solid half sphere, faceted over its surface, likely cut by hand, judging by its not-quite-perfect symmetry. The bottom is cut in a starburst pattern. Even though it has been buried in the mud for who knows how long, it really sparkles in the sun.
You just never know what new gift the universe will hand you on any given day. I wonder what else the creek has hidden, waiting to be discovered. Pirates' gold???
the paperweight is beautiful! It looks like a water drop dancing with sunlight.
ReplyDeleteI, too, love to find old treasure.
How romantic! If this was hidden on purpose, there might have been a message in the bottle, but obviously anything that might have closed it, has dissolved and the content was washed away... At least I like to think so.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a neat bottle for a special button collection!
ReplyDeleteI think the bottle looks pretty as it is.
ReplyDeleteTry Efferdent or another fizzy denture cleaner on the inside of the jar. I use that on glass vases that get stains on the inside.
ReplyDeleteto help date the jar, try http://www.antiquebottles.com/dating.html
ReplyDelete-congratulations on a great find!
Wouldn't you just love to hear the story of those 2 objects? You could probably invent a good one around the paperweight that got flung into the creek because...
ReplyDeleteBuried treasure ... ooo...what fun!
ReplyDeleteMy standby for getting crusty, really dirty, or greasy objects clean is dishwasher detergent (granule type) dissolved in very hot water.
Wow how amazing to find them buried. I once found a very old coin on the beach, it was the kind given to the poor many years ago I remember being very excited. It wasnt worth anything but the thought of how old it was just amazed me.
ReplyDeleteKaren
I find these kinds of things when I walk the beach. My olive oil bottle is a beach discovery. The bottle has Japanese writing & is "round square". It's lovely! The glass sphere is a particularly wonderful find! This post and your previous post on paying attention remind me of my nighttime journal, which asks the question "what did you SEE today". Wonderful blog!
ReplyDeleteAnother way to clean the insides you can't get to - a baking soda, water and rice slurry - cover the bottle and shake, the rice acts as little scrubbers. Then, follow (outside) with vinegar for some explosive results! Cleaning - the FUN way!
ReplyDeletei grew up in a 250 year old house in MA, we were always unearthing old bottles on the edges of our yard, on the hill that led to the Taunton River. People must have just chucked the bottles towards the river when they were done with them...pilgrim litterers!
Do you suppose the sphere is part of a stopper for the bottle?
ReplyDelete