Stemmed drinking vessels, whether for wine or ale, for rum or cordials, cider or drams, can be classified according to shape of bowl; this is important for descriptive purposes, and to some extent for dating. The following names of shapes do not apply to tumblers, mugs, or tankards, of course.

There are ten general shapes of bowl:

1. Drawn, found with the plain round stem and the air-spiral stem.

2. Bell, found with the baluster stem, the necked and collared stem, the air-spiral stem, the cotton-white spiral stem, with coin glasses, and with rose glasses.

3. Waisted bell, found with the corrugated stem and the plain stem.

4. Straight-sided, found with each class of stem.

5. Rectangular, a variety of the straight-sided, found with the plain round stem and the air-spiral stem.

6. Egg-cup-shaped, or ovoid, found with the cotton-white spiral stem, the air-spiral stem, and the cut stem.

7. Ogee (named after a term in architecture, signifying a curve, somewhat like the letter S), found mostly with the cotton-white spiral stem and the coloured spiral stem. These are believed to be of Bristol make as a rule, as many of them have the Bristol characteristic of perpendicular or spiral flutings in the lower half of the bowl, produced by pressure (a kind of moulding). The ogee bowl is also found with the cut stem, the plain round stem, and moulded stems.

8. Lipped ogee, found with the coloured spiral stem, the cotton-white stem, and moulded stems mainly.

9. Double ogee, found with the air-spiral stem, and the cotton-white stem; some of the oldest have knops and the folded foot.

10. Waisted, found with the air-spiral stem and the mixed spiral stem.

SMALL LUMP OR BEAD AT BOTTOM OF BOWL

In many of the older wine glasses the finger can feel, inside the bowl, just above the top of the stem, a small conical projection, like that of half a bead. But this is not invariable, or an essential proof of genuineness.