Topic: ID help please

[tropdevin]

I have a paperweight that baffles me. There is a very high set up of millefiori canes just under the top of the glass, and a green cushion very like those in some Scottish weights, well below it. The base has had the pontil mark ground out fairly neatly.  The canes have some resemblance to Murano canes, but also to some Scottish ones. So to my mind it could be Murano, but does not look quite right - and ditto for Scottish! Any thoughts? Images are clickable thumbnails.

Alan

[glasstrufflehunter]

That looks Chinese but my, is it nice!

Some of the cane shapes resemble Murano. I wonder if a factory in China got a hold of the cane molds from a defunct Murano glass studio. The colors are definitely Chinese. If I run across any like that I would definitely collect them. Very nice!

[paperweights]

I don't think I have seen a Chinese weight with an opaque color ground.  But, if Scottish, I would expect the canes to be down in the ground, not floating above.  How large is it?

[glasstrufflehunter]

I've never seen one with a hollow ground base or a solid colourground. I think this is another example of them trying new things and improving their overall quality.

In the last couple of years I've seen a lot of new designs coming out of China. They are now bundling their simple canes to make them more complex and there are some designs that are their renditions of classic period weights. I was fooled once by a three dimensional pine tree inside a thick cobalt overlay. I thought it was too nice to be Chinese but a kind person on this board provided me a link to a Chinese glass catalog. A couple times I've seen a two pansy weight that was quite nice. One of them had an annealing fault that went through the entire piece. They're still learning.

I'm happy to see the new quality pieces. I just hope they stay affordable. 

[tropdevin]

Hi.

Size: it is 3 inch diameter, 1 3/4 inch tall.

Chinese? I doubt it, myself, but I am fairly sure the weight is over 10 years old. There was an old label on the base (a second hand shop price label) that was yellowed and had old glue. So I don't see it as a very recent product.

Alan