Topic: Low-dome Millefiori Paperweight

[TxSilver]

I need some help with a millefiori weight. It is 2.8" in diameter and 1.7" high. It has a low dome and a sommerso style ground -- is that the right word? The low dome and the bottom of the paperweight remind me of two Aureliano Toso paperweights I had. The glass is smooth and well finished, though, with none of the flaws I've come to expect of AToso weights. Any ideas about this weight? Thanks!

[westred]

  Hi Anita,

  I often visit your site to peruse your latest PW's!  I have noticed a lot of copycat "Murano Design" makers out there lately.  Here is a link, http://www.myumbria.com/Murano-Design-Hand-Blown-Millefiori-Art/A/B0013CVSSM.htm to a PW you might be interested in seeing.  It looks a bit like the one you posted, but they won't show you the bottom.  I hate when they do that.  You should also get a profile or side view.  This is listed as a Murano style paperweight, so they can get away with selling a
paperweight that is not actually produced on Murano. 

  I have also noticed that the real Murano weights of late are being produced with lower domes.  It may be a cost-cutting technique, as they don't have to use as much glass, I do not know.  But the newer PW's I have looked at coming from Murano are domed lower.  I have never seen one with "NO" dome like yours.  It's a possibility!
I know anybody can acquire the millefiori or murrine beads from different Murano companies and incorporate them into their own paperweights.

  You have a real good mystery on your hands!  Let me know, if you come up with anymore information?  If I do, I will let you know.

  Hope I helped a little,

  Tom
 

[tropdevin]

I think of these designs of Murano weight as dating to the mid 20th Century - with not much strong evidence, though I have seen one like this which was purchased pre 1970 in Murano.  I am pretty sure they were made in Murano, and are not recent Chinese products.

Alan

[TxSilver]

Thanks, Tom and Alan. I checked some of the murrines against one of the posy vases that are often sold as Fratelli Toso on eBay. (These pieces don't look like Ftoso to me -- canes and finish are wrong. The canes usually look square-ish. ) Many of the canes are similar. I've never been able to figure out who did the posy vases, just just considered them generic. It may be this paperweight needs to be in the generic group, too. From the look of the canes, I don't think it is Chinese, unless they purchased some canes from Italy -- always a possibility.

I wonder if the 2.75" PW on the myumbra site really weighs 5 lbs! Those must be some heavy canes! My similar sized weight only weighs about 10 oz.

[alexander]

I too don't know who made this one, but I have seen several with old Murano stickers.
I have two weights with these canes myself and I am pretty sure they are from Murano.
Maybe even earlier than 1970.

The cushion of frit looks very inspired by Bohemian weights.

[TxSilver]

I agree, Alexander. I had an old trumpet flower weight that had the stringy frit appearance in the opening of the bottom. Aureliano Toso made some weights that also had the stringy appearance, which is what made me think of Atoso in the original post. Fratelli Toso has some that are similar, but the frit is thicker, instead of stringy on the bottom. I checked some Czech weights the other day, but couldn't find anything similar to my PW.

I don't really know how to age PWs that have been handled gently. I guessed that this one probably dated from somewhere in the 1960s based on style, but the guess may be wrong. I will have to check around more to see if I can find one with a sticker that can be dated.

[Leni]

I have a weight, which I was reliably informed was Murano, which has at least one cane which appears to me to be identical to a cane in this weight.  Mine also has a similar base, although the profile is quite different.  Mine has a 'traditional' high dome. 

[TxSilver]

Yours looks a lot like mine, Leni. My PW looks brighter because I used flash. I've noticed in a lot of non-Ftoso millefiori pieces that there are many canes with X's in the middle. This should probably tell us something, but what I don't know.  I'm always looking for significant tidbits.

[glasstrufflehunter]

TxSilver's weight is definitely Murano even with the low dome. I've seen canes like that in 'egg' weights as well. Leni' weight looks like the same maker. I have seen these weight attributed to Fratelli Toso, but I'm not sure.

The link provided by Westred is an example of the new Chinese. The canes are very, very close to Murano but the colors are typically Chinese. Most telling is the 'skim milk' whites. I would be tempted to buy them but for the prices. Not when I can still get genuine Murano for that or better yet Scottish!

[Leni]

I suppose it's not possible that Anita's weight is an un-encased paperweight 'button'?  :huh: The way the bottom half echoes the profile of the dome (or lack of one), and the way the base has been finished, makes me think it's not, but could that be a possibility?