Topic: Possible Clichy Paperweight? ID Assistance Greatly Appreciated!

[quailman]

Hello Everyone. I'm a paperweight newbie, so please excuse my lack of knowledge. I recently purchased this paperweight and I was hoping for some ID assistance. I've found several very similar looking paperweights attributed to Clichy, but I have no way of knowing if their attributions are correct. Can someone tell me who likely made this paperweight? And what features the ID attribution is based on? The paperweight measures about 3" wide (base is 2 3/4" in diameter) and it's approximately 2" tall. The slightly concave base has a flat edge with authentic-looking shelf wear, so I believe it's an antique piece. And the canes are quite detailed, especially when I look at them from the bottom with a hand lens. Thanks in advance for any ID assistance anyone can provide!

[paperweights]

This was made by Baccarat during their Dupont period (approximately 1920s).  Popular lore attributes them paperweights to a Mr. Dupont, who supposedly was the last worker at Baccarat to know the secrets of paperweight making.  These paperweights were sold at a Baccarat retail shop in Paris.  No collector or scholar ever met Mr. Dupont although at least one visited the Baccarat factory and asked to meet with him.  The weights stopped appearing in the shop in 1934.  The last catalog to show this type of paperweight was 1902 although this information is old and later catalogs may have surfaced.  An internal Baccarat document dated 1910 stated that there were no longer any workers who knew how to make paperweights and none had been made in 30 years.  This contradicted their presence in the shop in Paris, so the internal document may have been to pacify management rather than representing the facts.  We know the names of several makers who could have made paperweights during the 1920s.

[quailman]

Thanks Allan. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to reply and share your knowledge. In hopes of learning even a little more, are there certain canes in this paperweight that are unique to Baccarat? Also, are there features that help date this piece to the Dupont period specifically? Sorry for the additional questions. I'm trying to learn. Thanks again!

[paperweights]

Having examples of true classic period weights would help to learn the differences.  You can find some good Baccarat canes in these, but the canes are cut very thin and the color palette is limited.  It is like everything else, you need to handle both the 1845-1860 variety and the 1920 variety and after a while you can "see" the differences.  Usually one or more of the canes is so transparent that it is hard to get a good picture.  Yours is very attractive.  The dead giveaway is the way the canes are thin and placed close to the base.  The green canes and also the canes in the center of each circle don't show a lot of detail.

[quailman]

Thank you again Allan. Your willingness to share your expertise is greatly appreciated!