Topic: Looking for a very specific paperweight.

[cola]

I'm not an expert on glass nor am I a connoisseur but I have been looking for a very specific paperweight for the last few years. I've looked at literally thousands of images of paperweights, some of them worth hundreds of dollars, and I've still yet to find something resembling what I'm looking for. It occurred to me some time ago to seek help on a message board among people who may have a better idea how to find what I was looking for, and I hope that the good people here can help me.

Basically I just want to find a solid piece of glass, flat on the bottom, curved on top, with a single lump of pink coral in the centre. Not hot pink, not painted pink, not pink with a ton of fish and other exotic wildlife. Just pink coral. It should be about palm sized and look like a large water droplet except for the coral.

It's something I've wanted to give my partner for some time. It's kind of the "perfect gift." I understand such things were more popular in a time past, so ideally this PW would be an antique.

If there's anyone out there who has any idea what I'm talking about or some idea where I should look or who I should contact, I would be eternally grateful.

[KevinH]

Hello Cola.

I don't think you will find such a paperweight, and certainly not an "antique" one (i.e. 100 years or more old). However, given the liking in the mid-to-later 20th century for "tourist gifts" such as real Seahorses enclosed in clear acrylic (but probably not glass - which in its hot state would very likely destroy organic material), there may also have been equivalents with a piece of coral but personally I am not aware of any.

Also, given the modern conservation concerns of coral, I wonder whether many makers would now be prepared, or even allowed, to make such an item.

[cola]

Well, coral seemed extremely common in the paperweights that I looked at, many of them glass. Coral, in fact, is farmed pretty much all over the world for use in saltwater tanks and, I imagine, other kinds of decor (and more recently to replenish dwindling reefs). I don't doubt your expertise here, and perhaps you're using an industry definition, but my dictionary doesn't define antique as something in excess of hundred years of age, but merely something that is leant particular value because of its considerable age.

The item I'm describing was narratively significant in the book Nineteen Eighty-Four, which as you may know, was published in 1949. I always got the impression from the author's description that it was the kind of thing one saw fairly often in curio shops when he wrote the book. If you're telling me that this item was entirely a figment of George Orwell's imagination, that's exceedingly disappointing. The book is my boyfriend's favourite and he's agreed in the past that the paperweight the protagonist invests with such sentimental value would be the "perfect gift." It would mean a lot to me to find something that approximates my description. I'm sorry that you're so certain I won't. That's a really big blow to me.

[langhaugh]

Cola:

An interesting search, particularly since I'm a big Orwell fan, having visited the road to Wigan pier and the plaza named after him in Barcelona. The latter was more interesting.   Unfortunately, I don't know much about ppw's. While I understand Kevin's concern about coral, there's enough lying around tropical beaches to make harvesting it redundant. However, I think it more likely that you would find the coral made out of glass, like the contents of most ppw's. I found the links below by googling; they're not old or rare (and one has a fish) but should give you some hope of finding an appropriate ppw.

http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/product/Liberty/Stationery-and-Diaries/Red-Coral-Crystal-Dome-Paperweight,--John-Derian/10695

http://www.elizabethsembellishments.com/Red-Coral-Paperweight.html

http://www.crystal-fox.com/index.cfm/Jesse_Taj_Clownfish_with_Coral_Paperweight_4580.htm

Good luck. .

David

P.S. A thought: it might be worth approaching the maker in the first link with a request for a specific ppw to order.

 

[alexander]

Antique is usually used for items more then 100 years old in collector circles, vintage for items more than 25 years old.
Some people define the terms differently, but great age is usually a prime definer.

In the movie 1984 the paperweight used looked liked a fairly modern Chinese abstract pink flower paperweight.

I doubt you would many pieces of real coral encased in glass, the difference between the materials would make for
a difficult process. You may find them encased in a glass-like plastic as Kev H described.

I think it's fair to say that the collectors here have seen a lot of papeweights and paperweight ads,
I know I see several hundred a day - yet I have never seen a piece of real coral encased in glass.

[Lustrousstone]

I wonder if George Orwell saw a Victorian dump paperweight. One of those could resemble white coral under water and might have given him the idea to use coral as a metaphor for life. The colour of these paperweights certainly fits with "a colour and texture like rainwater." Other options might be ice pick paperweights or sulphides or a close pack of pink millefiori. It's entirely possible that he amalgamated several paperweight forms to achieve his idea.

[Lustrousstone]

This any good?

[alexander]

I think this paperweight is the same type as was used in the movie.

[cfosterk]

I was going to suggest the abstract pink/white Chinese flower weight illustrated above!!

I guess the size is too small though?

[Frank]

Simplest solution is to have one made, there are plenty able paperweight artists that could give you exactly what you want.