Topic: Perthshire maybe ? ID = Strathearn

[keith]

2 inches tall, no marked canes, am I right ? 

[glassobsessed]

Strathearn closepack Keith, so not completely but at least the right country!

https://strathearn.smugmug.com/Strathearn-Paperweights/P15-Carpet-Millefiori/

John

[keith]

Damn ! paperweights, who'd collect 'em ? So the other three very similar weights are probably the same ? thanks John 

[KevinH]

So the other three very similar weights are probably the same ?

Probably, but always worth checking out - they might be early Ysart!!

[keith]

Oh cripes  the first is at the back on the left, can't find a picture of the other 

[glassobsessed]

There were two in this lot Keith, went to that auction after a piece of furniture so thought I might have a bid. Internet went crazy and that was the end of that. Same with the table I was after!

https://www.peterfrancis.co.uk/auction/lot/402-THREE-MILLEFIORI-DOMED-GLASS-PAPERWEIGHTS-two-in--/?lot=127034&so=4&st=paperweight&sto=0&au=223&ef=&et=&ic=False&sd=1&pp=10&pn=1&g=-1

Should add that all three weights in that lot are by Paul Ysart and there was a hefty lump of commission on top of that hammer price.

[KevinH]

Keith - your weight top left of the group photo is certainly Strathearn. One feature of Strathearn closepack weights is that there is usually a fair amount of space around each cane, whereas in Ysart closepacks, the canes are generally much closer to each other.

John - did you happen to obtain diameter sizes of those Ysart weights in the Peter Francis auction? The fully ground base of one of the closepacks is very unusual on an Ysart item, especially if it was made by Paul. I will check my research copies of the images to see if I think either or both the closepacks may be by Salvador Ysart.

[glassobsessed]

I did not consider Salvador as maker, they were smaller than they look in the photos (if that makes any sense) which was a surprise in the flesh. From memory I would say 2.5 inches in diameter, maybe 2.75 but no larger than that. They were smaller than the third weight in the lot.

[keith]

Thanks both, here's the other similar weight....

[KevinH]

Keith - That "other similar" weight is also a definite Strathearn. As well as the space around individual cnaes, another regular feture is the use of a "very coggy" outer structure to many of the canes.

John - Thanks for the size info of those weights in the Peter Francis auction.

General info on the Peter Francis closepacks:
The larger of the two has about 150 canes and most appear once only.

The canes in the larger closepack include a single example of one of a few designs of "Ysart butterfly canes". The smaller closepack has about 90-100 canes but has no butterfly, or other "Salvador special canes". Although I have yet to make a full analysis of all the canes from both closepacks, I can confirm that a few are new to me but the majority are ones I have seen before in "Salvador Ysart / Ysart Brothers" items.

I therefore believe that both closepacks were most likely made by Salvador Ysart, And I would date them to the Ysart Brothers period of 1946 to 1955.

But ... a check under UV light (both longwave and shortwave) might prove me wrong.

Point of note:
Many people still consider the example butterfly cane in the larger closepack weight to be a "Paul Ysart cane". And that may be another reason, besides the presence of the concentric PY weight, why the hammer price for the "Lot of 3" was higher than some folk would have expecetd.

However, that particular butterfly cane is known to have often been used in weights from both Paul and Salvador. It can also be found in a few weights that I believe were made by Vincent Ysart at the Vasart Ltd company (1956 to 1964).