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Paperweights website... enjoy! :)

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Anne:
Not sure if this should go here or in the Glass forum links listing, but it's a fascinating paperweight website: http://verredart.atspace.com/

KevinH:
Well found, Anne.

Yes, it's a good site for examples of "lesser-known" weights, many of which are inexspensive gift weights.

Pity there's no contact links to ask questions or suggest updates - although so far the only inaccuracies I have seen are in the dates for Strathearn weights which can be no later than 1980 as that's when they stopped paperweight production.

Perhaps I really should think about a broadband connection? My 56K dial-up keeps stopping during the loading of many hundreds of images in some of the categories - such as the massive numbers of Chinese weights.  :!:

For those of us who do not know the American terminology, an "Ice Pick" weight is one with "flowers" or bubbles that have a "stem" formed by inserting a thin rod or similar tool (like a small ice-pick) during the making.

Leni:

--- Quote from: "KevH" ---Well found, Anne.
--- End quote ---

Indeed!  :shock:  :D

--- Quote --- massive numbers of Chinese weights.  :!:
--- End quote ---

Even my broadband connection struggled to download that lot!   :roll:

However, I have to say that I was a little frustrated with the 'China' label on so many weights.   :?  I know they are dismissed by 'real' paperweight collectors, but IMHO some interesting little weights are coming out of China, many having quite good attempts at, for example, combinations of lampwork and crimped flowers.  Someone somewhere in China is trying hard, and I am frustratrated that their work is dismissively lumped together under the collective label 'Chinese'!  :x  After all, China is a big place!   :shock:  

Kevin, has / is any research been / being done to identify individual glass factories and / or glassworkers in China?  Or is there perhaps a degree of anti-Chinese 'snobbery' in paperweight collecting?  :wink:  

Leni

Anne:
Leni, I agree with you. I was amazed at the variety of the Chinese weights and, like you, wondered if there was a *snob* thing with Chinese p/w's as they seem to be regarded as the poor relations of glass - as does any Chinese glass come to think of it.

They are trying hard and learning fast as is their wont - just because Europe and the USA have been making glass for the last few hundred years doesn't mean we should disregard all of what comes out of Asia as poor quality ad infinitim.

There's an interesting article on why China has no history of glassmaking, written by Alan Macfarlane of King's College, Cambridge in 2002, which can be found here: http://www.alanmacfarlane.com/glass/ACHINA.pdf

Frank:
I am surprised that a supposedly academic essay should be so full of crap! There is a dearth of research on Chinese glass, I did have one expensive book on Chinese glass but it seems to  have vanished, however check out a carved glass vase from 1736-95 at the V&A museum. Cameo was their main export then of Peking glass. In the Bostom Museum of Fine Arts you will see a remarkable fish shaped cameo vase.

More modern times one of the major glass products has been and probably remain, snuff bottles. Mostly opaque glass as that was their taste and not too popular on this board.

Unfortunately the historians concentrated on classic periods of chinese decorative arts and the great examples are very rare and expensive. It lost out to European fashion trends, I suppose. Until somebody does the research it will remain obscure... first you wll need to learn a few Chinese languages and then have the time and money to do the research.

So for now it stays obscure.

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