Topic: ID Help - reverse enamel colored clipper ship

[LesBeatiques]

Hello,

I remember reading in an earlier thread that later iterations of the Chinese "white ground" weights had been replaced by enameling the base and skipping the encasement process.  Is this one such example or something else? 
It is roughly 2-1/2" diameter & 1-3/4 tall and rests on a slightly concave base.

Any and all thoughts are always welcomed.

Many thanks,
Eric

[Roger H]

Yes looks like a more modern chinese update of the original 1930s type. But it will be interesting on other comments from more expert analysis.
               Regards Roger

[LesBeatiques]

Thanks Roger.
This image of the profile might also be useful.

[paperweights]

I don't think this is Chinese.  It looks like a group of weights that I have with enamel disks near the top.  I've attributed these to an unknown maker possibly from Portugal.  However, your profile has me puzzled.  Is the entire weight colored white or is that an optical illusion?

[tropdevin]

***

Hi.  I do not think this is Chinese (and it is certainly not a conventional 'Chinese White'). There are some modern paperweights, as you suggest, with an image painted on the underside of a glass lens (possibly by the Japanese rather than Chinese), but these are usually small, and quite low domed.

I have seen a couple of paperweights of this style, but do not know where they were made.  Tom Mosser has made some white ground paperweights with transfers and painted images, but I think these are usually signed 'M'. There is a long thread on this board about them http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,20105.0.html.

Alan

[paperweights]

I was going to mention Mosser also.  Alan is correct that his weights are usually signed with an M on the enamel plaque.  They are also larger paperweights.  I've never had a Mosser weight as small as this (2 1/2" diameter). 

Unlike the Chinese designs which appear to be applied directly, this paperweight is made (as Alan mentions) by transfer or decal.  Printing is not done directly on the enamel plaque.  The design is first created as a decal (or transfer) which is applied to the enamel plaque and then fired.  The inks for the transfer are resistant to firing, but the underlying paper or other material burns off.  I have one example where you can see a burn mark.  After it is fired it can then be encased.  The technique is an old one normally associated with ceramics.  The oldest examples are monochrome. 

[LesBeatiques]

Thank you both.
I apologize for the profile picture, it is an optical illusion and the glass is clear.

I am familiar with Mosser's work and I've always figured that the images in his weights were always achieved by using some sort of mechanical printing process thus achieving great detail and definition.  The image in this piece has some detail but still far less then those seen in Mosser's work. However I do believe that this piece was at least partially created by an appliqué process yet it shows signs of being partially hand colored. Possibly a two step process, where first the black outlines were applied then colored in by hand. This piece also differs in that the image is applied directly to the glass without encasement to the shallow concavity of the base.