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Very Large Murano Paperweight?

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fivecents:
Hi. I have a quick question. This came from an estate of a US Army officer who served in Italy until 1949. My question is...what is this? Although it looks like a paperweight it's far too large to be that or at least I think it is at 6" in Height, 8 1/2" in diameter & a weight of 5 1/2 lbs. This is large...did they make what is classified as a paperweight in this size? Thanks, Ken

http://knicol2.brinkster.net/muranolargecenterpiece.jpg

KevinH:
Hi Ken,

Normally, a paperweight-looking item of that size would be described as a door stop.

But weights of this size (and even much larger!!) are quite well known from Murano. They can be found today in various Murano shops and occasionally in fairs and auctions in the UK and USA as well as on eBay. Unfortunately, I don't know which maker these are from or for how long they have been produced.

A year or so ago, I received an email showing one of these fixed to a brass-coloured stand and it was stated that it was a very rare Clichy weight (which it was not, neither rare nor Clichy) and on further enquiry, I was informed that price would be around £5,000  :shock: I declined to take the enquiry any further.

I have also seen two others like this - again on metal stands. One was in a Chritie's auction, attributed to Murano but with a late 19th century date. I don't think that dating was right. The other was in a Glass Fair and because there was a "B" scratched on the underside, it was suggested that it was a rare weight by Pietro Bigaglia  :shock:  :shock: No way. Nope. Not at all.

fivecents:
Thanks Kev. Appreciate the info as I'm not at all familar with PWs. Yes it's big enough for a doorstop. Buddy of mine called his sister who brought home a small PW from her trip to Italy 4-5 years ago that looked just like mine only obviously about 1/5 the size. Her's was Toso (whomever that may be) & I was suprised what she paid for it, but of course she was a tourist...little steep for my blood. Bought a Millefori vase from same estate, but not nearly as interesting as the...well I guess it is a PW. Thanks again Kev.  Ken

EstlinClichy:
Because of the size, your paperweight is a special Italian beauty, made in Murano (Venice) by either Fratelli Toso - literally Toso Brothers or Moretti And Fratelli (or Moretti Brothers). But it is Murano. I saw a number of these oversize paperweights, some of them 6, 7, or 8 inches wide overall and about 6, 7, 8 or inches high, all Muranese while in Venice in October. They were selling for between 150 and 250 Euros. Every single one that I saw was filled with the millefiori cane work, some similar to the millefiori cane work in your item.

As noted in other posting, large, oversize paperweights are generally called doorstop weights because some people actually used them to hold open doors.

Frank:
Vincent Ysart had one on every door in his house, so presumably a paperweight makers style.

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