Would anybody please be kind enough answer a question for me?

Probably the pontil mark you are referring to, rather than the tool that is called the pontil (or punty). The pontil is a tool (metal rod of sort) that is stuck to the base of the already partly shaped blown vessel with a blob of hot glass. This holds the vase or bowl etc while further hot working / shaping the piece. Most times an irregular (ring shape) mark of glass is left on the base when broken / cut off, ie the pontil mark, which is usually ground and polished as needed later.

So the pontil mark is basically the base of a glass vase/bowl.

I had a feeling that's what it was, but was never sure.

I've recently, over the last couple of years, fallen in love with the glass vases and bowls of the 50's, 60's and 70's made by the likes of Flavio Poli, Whitefriars and most of the Scandinavian glassworks of that period, so I've come across the word a lot lately.

I've tried a few times to find out what it was for sure but, until now, never managed to do so. Even the OE spellchecker hasn't heard of the word. You're offered, amongst others, pintail, ponytail, pencil and even panty!! lol... but no 'Pontil'.

So... finally... no more not knowing and not being sure!!!

Thank you very much for your help. :o)

I had intended a private reply, but apparently your e-mail address is fake, so here it is.

Unlike your reply [below] on the news group, a pontil mark is not the base of a vase, but a mark within the base, which may also appear elsewhere depending on the shape of the piece. It is created in the following steps: the blown piece, with the bottom shaped, is prepared for breaking off from the pipe; a second tool called a pontil in French or a punty in English (both pronounced the same) is prepared with a blob of hot glass on the end; the punty is stuck to the center of the bottom of the piece and the piece is cracked off the pipe; the top of the piece is worked in the glory hole, heating and shaping it; when complete, the piece is cracked off the punty and put in the annealing oven. When the punty is cracked off it normally takes a bit of the glass out of the bottom of the piece. The spot where the piece is taken out is the pontil or punty mark. Depending on how hot the glass blob on the punty was and the skill of the glass worker, the punty mark may be barely visible or the size of a half dollar or more. It can have sharp edges. Some people consider the punty mark to be the sign of hand blown glass, but it is not necessary as other tools can be used to hold the glass and the mark may be ground off. If the mark has sharp edges, it should be ground smooth. Some makers use a diamond grinding wheel with a convex edge to make shallow bowl shape in grinding the punty. If only ground, the area may be frosted and some workers have it polished to clear glass. Mike Firth

Google Images has examples..

"Raised, sometimes sharp, mark or scar on the bottom of a blown glass item,caused by the removal of the item from the glass blowing rod. Often appearsas a small glob on the bottom of an item. Also called an open pontil,particularly on bottles." Sometimes ground polished out to form a small depression.