Glassblower’s block

A glassblower’s block is a shaping tool for hot glass, called skope or skoper in Norwegian descriptions. It helps the glassblower shape and cool the gather before further inflation.

Form and use

The block is a piece of wood with a hemispherical hollow. Corning Museum of Glass describes dipping it in water before using it to round the gather. Steam helps separate the wood from the hot glass. This is a handheld shaping tool, rather than a closed mould that determines the complete finished object.

Identification and documentation

For an older example, record the hollow, handle, wear and any workshop provenance. Shape alone does not establish the glassworks, date or particular wood species. Nor does a loose block prove that an accompanying glass object was made using that specific tool.

Sources: Corning Museum of Glass: Block; Store norske leksikon: norsk fagterminologi og bruk.