Topic: Cane Trumpet Flower PWT

[TxSilver]

This is a curious 3.8" paperweight. The canes of the flowers look like Murano, but I suspect the weight is Chinese (which is okay). The stems are roughened white cane pieces. The ground has dots of aubergine and lime green color covered with bubbles. The base is smoothly polished. Has anyone seen a weight like this one before?

[glasstrufflehunter]

I've seen Chinese paperweights like this, but I don't think this one is Chinese. The Chi ones generally have five petals to the flowers. The colors are not Chi either.

The canes remind me of Ferro and Lazzarini. F&L made several kinds of cane flower weights.

[alexander]

This looks like US maker Gentile. They used Murano canes for millefiori weights.

[TxSilver]

Thanks for looking at the paperweight, gtf and Alexander. I tried to locate some Ferro-Lazzarini weights. One was similar in spirit to my weight, so it could be a possibility. I don't know anything about Gentile weights, other than what I have seen on eBay. Were all their weights marked?

It is good to get a direction where to look. I had really just assumed that it was a Chinese weight with old Murano canes.

[alexander]

The Gentile weights with Murano canes usually catch my eye when they come up, 
mostly due to me being interested in them when I first started collecting paperweights

I've since tried to specialize more on antique European and the modern US studio weights so
no Gentiles for me. Amazing how a paperweight collection can grow when you have access to eBay and Live auctions.

There are many Gentile glassmakers from what I understand, I don't know wether all signed their weights.
This may be from a different maker alltogether, that's the problem with selling canes willy nilly

I agree with glasstrufflehunter that the canes look like F&L, or Galliano Ferro.   
I'm not so sure about the spatter cushion is F&L. 

[SophieB]

I remember reading somewhere that early Gentile weights were not systematically signed. Also, I looked at my copy of Jean Melvin's 'American Glass Paperweights and Their Makers' last night but I could not see a Gentile weight which resembled this one.

SophieB

[glasstrufflehunter]

I have three Gentile cane flower weights. This weight is not really like them. Gentiles also had fire polished bases that did not always get stamped. I've also seen weights attributed to Gentile that had very roughly ground bases.

This weight has a smooth symmetrical base like Murano.

I have never seen spatter grounds in F&L either.

[TxSilver]

I found a couple of similar paperweights with spatter at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwiglassbird/3519412111/. They are attributed to Galliano Ferro. The weights are faceted and one is on a pedestal, but the decoration looks a lot like mine. GF makes variable quality glass, so I bet it is what my pwt is. Thanks for your help, everyone!  :hiclp: