Topic: Millefiori Paperweight Ink Bottle Id Help Please

[Nemmie]

Hi, I purchased this recently but I am unsure of maker or period. I thought the stopper was a marriage originally but on close inspection it fits perfectly and the cane mirrors the one in the middle of the bottom.

Also I saw one listed at a reputable auction house with the same stopper but just an old english attribution.

Any information gratefully received. Measures 5 2/8 inches in height and 3.5 inches across (at widest).

[millarart]

not a clue but very nice , 

[chriscooper]

Well I am going to stick my neck out and suggest Richardson 

[SophieB]

I did think Richardson too but I have yet to see a stopper with one single cane from that factory. However what I know about Richardson weights could be consigned safely to the back of a postage stamp!!!

Of course, the bottle and stopper may be a 'marriage of convenience'...

I expect Mr Tropdevin will enlighten us when he gets to his computer.

SophieB

[Nick77]

I'd also agree the bottle is Richardson but have never seen a stopper like that.

Nick

[Nemmie]

Not sure what the one on the bottom right of this page is :-

http://www.pwts.co.uk/pages/OE%20Identification.htm

I await further developments from those in the know. Sadly I can't find the old auction link with one exactly the same but I will keep trying.

[tropdevin]

***

Hi Nemmie.

The bottle is a hybrid, in that the base and the stopper are by different makers.  The base looks like a Richardson piece to me, but the stopper comes from a different source - an unknown Old English maker I have referred to in various articles and talks as 'OE 2'.  Your link to my webpage shows a typical OE2 bottle, with single cane stopper.  The bottle is probably from the 1890 to 1910 period.

It is rare to find a Richardson bottle with original undamaged stopper, as the shaft was usually as thin as a pencil, and easily broken.  These Richardson stoppers were concentric millefiori designs that usually used some of the same canes as the base, and now turn up as 'miniature' Richardson paperweights.

Alan

PS   I have added an image of a selection of OE2 bottles and paperweights to the web page mentioned above.

[Nemmie]

Well thank you Alan and thank you all.

Nice to know more about the piece. Whoever matched it did a great job I think.