Author Topic: That hotbed of paperweight makers - INDIA (??????) (Read 3309 times)

dfernbach · « **on:** April 27, 2006, 11:10:16 AM »

Presented for your amusement and for my education:
http://i3.tinypic.com/wk1b92.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/wk1bh3.jpg
The paperweight is about 2 1/2 inches high and wide.

I was told by an American collector with some apparent knowledge of paperweights (20 years as a collector, I never asked how many weights he has but suspect it's substantial) that this paperweight is from India. :?

I have my doubts for 2 reasons:
1. In my years and years (okay :oops: , weeks and weeks) of intensive study of paperweights, this is the only time I have heard mention of paperweights made in India!
2. While I believe that this fellow to be knowledgeable, I must state that he's the same fellow who insisted almost til the end that the St. Mande (made by Chinese while visiting Baccarat under the supervision of the tadpole department of Kings College in Edinburgh and commissioned by Bugs Bunny) was Clichy! :!:

Just so you know (because it's so important!), my dad attended and graduated from Kings College medical school during WW II. In retrospect, given his love of Scotland and of paperweights, I'm surprised that I didn't end up living there!.

Anyway, back to the point.
* Did they / do they make paperweights in India?
* Is this paperweight likely a product of India?
* If not, then any guesses/suggestions/hints as to its pedigree?
* Would any paperweight collector be at all interested in owning this weight?

In total respect of Simone's belief that there is no such thing as a junk paperweight (yes, this will hold paper!), please don't hesitate to tell me that this is a piece of junk.

Of course, I will doubt your veracity if you then offer to buy it. :lol:[/url]

Leni · « **Reply #1 on:** April 27, 2006, 11:15:36 AM »

Well, I've seen them described as 'Modern Bohemian', but it looks Indian to me. :shock: Firozabad, I believe :shock: :roll:

No, really!

KevinH · « **Reply #2 on:** April 27, 2006, 12:32:22 PM »

Yes, paperweights are made in India. They also make beads with cane decoration. My own knowledge of the types of Indian weight is extremely limited. Leni probably knows more about those than I do.

I know they make "Ice-pick" / "Bohemian" flower type weights and these are usually formed from coloured chips.

Whether the weight shown is Indian, I don't know. I haven't seen that design before, but it's better than the Indian 3-flower types I know of.

Simone · « **Reply #3 on:** April 27, 2006, 02:42:23 PM »

Well Don, for an Indian paperweight it's quite nice - and if it had a hole in for a pen, I'd by it.

dfernbach · « **Reply #4 on:** April 27, 2006, 04:25:18 PM »

I have a drill bit that is specifically made for glass and ceramics, but it's probably only wide enough that you could hold the refill for a pen, not the pen itself.

Anne · « **Reply #5 on:** April 27, 2006, 05:24:05 PM »

Don, Have a look here at some of the Indian weights around:
http://verredart.atspace.com/I.html

dfernbach · « **Reply #6 on:** April 28, 2006, 10:16:19 AM »

Does anybody know the derivation of the "ice pick" term?

KevinH · « **Reply #7 on:** April 28, 2006, 05:24:38 PM »

"Ice Pick" is an American term.

It's descripitive of any thin, pointed tool used to form a flower stem or an air bubble by insertion into the molten dome.

dfernbach · « **Reply #8 on:** April 28, 2006, 07:43:03 PM »

Thanks Kev - that's kind of what I expected.

BUT - that would (I think) create thin long bubbles or shapes which doesn't seem to be what the term is related to in terms of the paperweights on the site Anne pointed me towards.

Those weights (and mine) seem to have relatively flat color chips embedded - not long narrow ones.

Maybe this is just one of those terms that you have to accept.

Lustrousstone · « **Reply #9 on:** April 28, 2006, 07:48:20 PM »

My thought was they were like the chips created by an ice pick