Topic: Interesting Vasart

[Derek]

Hi all

I was looking at some of Dave's weights yesterday and very suprised to spot in a Vasart concentric what appears to be a thistle in a complex cane. Pictures of the weight and the complex cane.



I have checked all the reference material I have and cant find any reference to a thistle cane having been found before in a Vasart weight.

Its not a cane distortion as the entire ring of complex canes are from the same cane and all exhibit the thistle.

Comment please !

Derek
 

[KevinH]

Hi Derek,

I have just one example of that complex cane in a reference weight (has a couple of not-so-disastrous internal stress fractures). Unfortunately, the cane in my weight is a) next to one of the fractures and b) in a position where the dome does not provide the best, or clearest, magnification.

I assume the "thistle" is the cane with a pale yellow outer coating, a white inner around a grey core, and is situated on the edge of the complex setup, between the two larger canes, one with an oarnge central rod and the other with a blue rod. I can see how that can appear to be a thistle with rounded sides being the base of the thistle head and with three (or perhaps four?) "spikes" representing the top of the thistle.

I think in reality it is a squashed circular cane having a regular 8-lobe daisy (or star) as its inner design. If it were a true thistle design, why would it have two "spikes" as a stem? If the "thistle" part was deliberately shaped in that way (as with known "portrait" type canes such as the Spade and Diamond canes) surely it would have been set as a pre-formed centre to a regular circular cane, as with all the other "portrait" ones.

Howver, I will keep an open mind and look out for other examples that might appear, either in other complex canes or as a cane in its own right.

[tropdevin]

***

I have to say my vote goes to the squashed cane theory.  I think Kev's explanation is pretty convincing: when canes are made, they are close to perfect circles, and the 'thistle cane' looks to have suffered some serious distortion, which could create something 'thistly'.

But as Kev says, always keep an open mind...there are many aspects of canes and paperweights that we do not understand, and if we think we do, we have sometimes got it horribly wrong!

Alan

[Derek]

Hi Kev and Alan

Thanks for your ideas - I will get Dave to bring it along to the PCC meeting at Godstone
so you can get a first hand look at it.

Best regards

Derek