Record

TitleWhitefriars glassblower's bench
RepositoryHarrow Museum Collection
Ref NoHMC/I/3/2017:10
ObjectNumber2017:10
DescriptionWhitefriars glassblower's bench. Wooden with two long projecting arms from either end of the seat, one of which has a metal strap bolted along it.
ProvenanceDonated by the former Geffrye Museum (now Museum of the Home) in 2017. The bench was donated to the Geffrye in 1923.
CommentsA glassblower's bench is most commonly a steel-framed long-armed chair with a wooden seat that extends beyond the arms on both sides. The metal shields protect the legs of the worker from the heat of the glass. The pipe (or punty) is placed on the arms and rolled out and back to keep the glass in a smooth round shape whilst working it. Metal tools are placed on the extended seat, although they may also hang on nails driven into the edge. Often behind the seat are buckets of water holding blocks and wooden tools. Since sliding tools, such as jacks, must be waxed and gripping tools, such as tweezers and shears, must not, the waxed tools are placed tipping to one edge and the unwaxed to the opposite edge.
Multimedia

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Object NameBench
MaterialsWood, metal
LocationOn Display
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