Topic: paperweight help. ID = Paul Ysart

[boxed]

image3

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thankyou for the welcolme and for tips on uploading images
tried to send you images kevin but diddnt know how to attach them
regards
b

[boxed]

So sorry forgot the dimensions
they are 3inches x 3inches and 111/2 inches around

[boxed]

Hi kevin
I got the width wrong its actually 31/2inches and 3 inches wide and 111/2 inches around
hope this helps
b

[KevinH]

Thanks for the new images and the sizes.

I have looked at enlarged copies of the new photos and my view is that this is a Paul Ysart weight from the 1930s period.

It certainly has a complex cane that I have so far only seen in work by Paul, rather than his father or brothers. That cane is a bundle of 16 canes within a white sleeve coated in green and formed with 16 outer ribs. It appears at the centre of the lower edge of canes in the photo: "image1c".

Also, the mix of canes and twists is well formed with no obviously unintentional air bubbles among or over the elements. The design, with 1 central and 8 peripheral intentional bubbles over a "scrambled" ground of canes is known as "Harlequin".

The strong purple tint to the dome is a feature known in various "early Ysart" weights and is most likely a result of excess manganese (a decolourant) in the glass batch. It may also have been effected by sunlight, which can, in more extreme cases, cause "soda glass with manganese" to turn purple.

[SophieB]

Hi Kevin,

Ah! Well!! Got that one wrong!!   
 I did wonder about an attribution to PY but was not convinced by the images...

Sophie

[incazzatonero]

 In my opinion defenitly Paul Ysart.

[boxed]

Hi guys
Thankyou for all comments
Quick question - Is it possible to have the paperweight fixed
Abd if so is it expensive?
Regards
B

[KevinH]

Fixing a crack in a solid piece of glass is not really viable. It could even cause further problems.

The crack will probably have formed as a result of internal stresses (*) being released, perhaps by an impact or a sudden and extensive change in temperature.

Often, cracks in weights, especially in the base, will remain stable. Sometimes they will extend further. It depends on whether or not all of the stresses have been released.

(*) Stresses in glass are normally released during the gradual, controlled cooling process. But sometimes stresses remain - and are not noticeable until a crack occurs.

[tropdevin]

***

Hi.  Paul Ysart paperweights from the 1930s, especially the rather tinted glass ones, seem prone to cracking. I don't think they were always annealed properly.   It is always important to check the base of seemingly sound Ysart paperweights from this era, as quite a few have cracks radiating from the pontil mark.  Repeated heating and cooling during the day/night cycle, or even getting water into the cracks can lead to these growing.  (I think water can affect the surface energy needed for Griffith crack growth, but it is a complicated subject).  I have heard of 3 people who have had Paul Ysart weights crack in two (or more) whilst the weights were just sitting in a display cabinet.

People have tried various ways to repair them...but I have yet to hear of anyone succeeding.  I think that once they are cracked, that is the end of it.  If they look good on display, great, but the market value is negligible.

Alan