Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass Paperweights => Topic started by: a40ty on January 12, 2007, 03:17:55 PM
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Good afternoon. I know zero about paperweights and only own one.. this one ;)
I inherited it from my grandmother who died about 40 years ago. How long she had it in her possession I don't know. Is it possible to date a paperweight like this?
It is 7½ cms in diamter, 5 cms in height and the bottom has been ground.
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-4535
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That is a very pretty example of what's called a scramble or end of day weight. It's from Murano. The canes look like Fratelli Toso to me. I'm not so good with dates but I think it may be from the 50's.
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Here is another one to compare it to:
http://www.glassmessages.com/perthshirepp.jpg
and the label on its base
http://www.glassmessages.com/perthshireppbase.jpg
Are you sure yours is so old?
Angela
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Hi Glasstruffelhunter and Angela B, Thank you both!
"End of Day", what a lovely phrase; makes me think of misty valleys but it is more likely to be what we call "fusk" in Denmark. Work that was done after the days production. Am I right?
Angela B, I'm pretty sure it is that old, but I'll check with my Mum when she is up and running. The paperweight you posted is certainly similar but the clear glass surround on mine is much thicker, so that the coloured part doesn't begin to approach the surface.
(Small world.. my sister-in-law is from Crieff)
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The canes in your (a40ty) weight are certainly not Scottish.
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The two weights shown are a good example of the same type - with a scramble of canes set very close to, and all over, the surface - being produced by several makers and over many years.
These are not (in my view) "end of day" weights. The Perthshire examples were regular production pieces. And I regard the Murano ones as also "daily production" (gift / tourist items).
a40ty's weight is definitely Murano and I agree that Fratelli Toso is a possibility for the company that made it. That type of weight is known from Murano from the early 20th century to now/
I have known a couple of the very large versions (4+ inch diameter and set on a metal stand) to be offered as "early 19th century Bigaglia" / "mid 18th century Clichy" ::)
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Perthshire made their millefiori marble in red? *drools*
My first Perthshire was a millefiori marble (that's what the dealer called it) on a black ground. Since then I have seen them on blue but never red before now. I would love to get my hands on one.
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In my reply above, I did, of course, mean "mid 19th century Clichy", not "18th".
And the size of those Murano weights on stands is more like 5 to 6 inch than "4+".
Doh! :-X
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Good morning again; my Mum tells me that my grandmother bought it in an antique shop at the start of the fifties. (could just as easily be a secondhand shop..)
KevH, thank you for the info but I am curious about something.. you say "scramble of canes set close to, and all over the surface", these seem to be a long way from the surface. Or have I misunderstood?
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-4567
In any case, thank you all for taking the time :)
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Could you add a profile view please.
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Hello Frank,
Boy, it is difficult to get a good profile! Hope these are ok.....
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-4569
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-4568
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-4570
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In the profile and pictures from above, you don't see the halo of clear glass like you do from the bottom, so they are closer to the surface than other designs where you would see large areas of clear glass from the side like this one(also Fratelli Toso):
http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?album=224&pos=4
That is a really beautiful paperweight you have.
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Aaah, the penny drops ;D (Told you I was a greenhorn)
Thank you for the compliment; you have some lovely ones yourself, especially the one with strawberries, it is gorgeous!
Must keep an eye out for Fratelli Toso in the future...
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From out of this discussion, I have raised a new topic:
http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,8937.0.html
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Great! Wanted to reply hours ago, but I accidentally ( and inexplicably ) locked myself out of Glass Message Board :-[
Will follow the thread with interest. And again, thanks everyone!
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Thank for the compliments too!
That strawberry weight got me into trouble. I'm a serious collector of modern Scottish millefiori. I just happened to see that one on eBay and thought it was darn pretty. Darn affordable too. I asked about it on here and found out it was Fratelli Toso and that's what got me started on Italian paperweights. I discovered that there are lots and lots of very beautiful Italian weights. And they don't think they suffer in comparison to my Perthshires and McDougalls. They are a different kind of pretty.
The precise identity of those strawberry canes is somewhat of a puzzle to me. When I saw them I thought they looked like grape clusters. I've seen them identified as 'ponti,' which could be a reference to the shape looking like a series of dots or somebody's name. I saw something about someone named Ponti on one of the Italian glass maker sites.
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Hi again! My italian is pretty poor, but doesn't Ponti mean bridge? Not very logical, in this context..
You mentioned "end of day", does it mean work carried out after production is finished? Or am I way off mark?
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"END OF DAY
see SCRAMBLED
SCRAMBLED MILLEFIORI
a millefiori paperweight design in which whole and broken canes, and sometimes white or colored "lace," are jumbled together to fill the weight"
from: http://mikegigi.com/gloswts.htm
From what I understand (and I am a complete novice) the "end of day" term comes from the artist, after a day or week or whatever of working, would take all the odds and sods lying around the workshop and put them all together (I resist saying toss together ;D) to make a weight. (Today of course you will find that some artists will produce a whole series of weights in the end of day style and, as I understand it, these are then called scattered.) The nice thing about these are that they are 100% unique and one-offs as oppossed to a pattern millefiori that follows a set patern of say 1-2-2-3 (groups of canes seperated by lace) and normally of the same canes. In many of these you find examples of seldom used canes and sometimes much cheaper than the more formal work.
I re-iterate that I am a novice and will like to hear from the more experienced people if my understanding is correct.
Kind regards,
KarelM
Ps: It is the second time today that I post the above link, please note that I have no affiliation whatsoever to that website, I just found it helpfull.
[Mod: Edited 22 Aug 2015 to replace dead link (see above) with current version of the "Glossary of Paperweight Identification Terms".]
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I collect the work of Peter McDougall. He makes a scramble style weight as part of his general range. Perthshire made 'millefiori marbles' and 'Aladdin's cave' type weights out of the leftover bits.
Even though these type weights are each unique, they would not be considered 'one-offs'. Closepack weights which consist of an assortment of canes are each unique in the same way. I have two of the same 'model' of a McDougall weight which is a formal arrangement of canes and latticino. They look very different because of the colors and shapes of the canes. I'm pretty sure that McDougall does not repeat the precise combination of cane styles and colors from weight to weight in his general range mille and twist weights but they are the same model because of the arrangement. I have seen the exact cane arrangement and selection repeated in Italian weights.
To be a one-off a weight has to be the only one of that particular size, design and year.
I would not call you a complete novice. ;D You're getting a handle on stuff pretty quickly.
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A problem with the term "end-of-day" is that it has been widely used by dealers and collectors to apply to any glassware that does not seem to be of "very good" quality! For example, regular 19th century production Bohemian spattered glass is so often called "end-of-day" - just because the decoration consists of simple patches of colour over clear. And the same sort of generalisation has been applied to some paperweights, which, as I indicated earlier for Perthishire & Murano scrambled weights, are actually regular production items.
I believe it is a mistaken notion that at glassworks the pot (or tank?) would be emptied at the end of each day by workers "doing their own thing" and creating personal (gift or "beer money") items. Personal items (friggers) have always been made, but not in the quantities that are so regularly available.
In major glassworks, the glass batch would last for about a week. In smaller works, the pot would probably be topped up several times over many days, rather than "use up, then refresh" every day. I am happy to be challenged on this by any glassworker who happens to be reading - and I would welcome their comments on whether "end-of-day" really is something that occurs.
So, I disagree with the all too often use of "end-of-day" (or perhaps "end-of-week"??) for many items that were most likely just a "more affordable" range but made as part of the regular production output. But it is a term that maybe all of us pick up on it when we first get into glass collecting. After all, it is so often seen in books as well as heard at fairs and auctions.
And, by the way, it's not just me saying this ... in British Glass 1800-1914, page 308, Charles R. Hajdamach wrote:The term 'End of Day' glass has become commonplace in the antiques trade for most of the spangled or mottled glasses. This suggestion that they were made at the end of the working day to use up the unwanted glass is erroneous and the large number of patents for the style proves that it was a commercial line with a great number of of competitors.