Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass Paperweights => Topic started by: johnphilip on July 31, 2009, 10:07:29 AM
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On ebay not mine not bidding , there is a neat murano weight nothing fantastic just nice -label 3 Fiori fond , ta vetrai - made in Murano Italy .item 230360631146 . any good for label / cane ID ?
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3 fiori was a factory in Venice which made paperweights/glass items in the traditional Venetian way (and they made their own canes). They closed 3/4 years ago I think. However, a few glassmakers had left previously and formed a rival outfit called simply 'millefiori factory'. They still exist and they have a website:
http://www.millefiorifactory.com/home1inglese.html
Some of the canes used for the weights on show on the website are indeed very similar to the ones in the Ebay weight. In fact, the Millefiori factory makes some nice and neat weights. If I remember well they are part of a consortium of glassmakers who identify their weights with a specific label to try and protect themselves against Chinese copies and imports (the label desintegrates if one tries to take it off to stick on another item).
The owner of the Corner House Gallery should be able to tell you more but I gather that it is in the process of changing hands.
Still I hope this helps.
SophieB
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Post-Scriptum:
Sorry I forgot to say the most important thing: I have never seen this label though. My only 3 Fiori weight has simply 3 Fiori acid etched on the bottom and no label (I bought it new so the label has not been removed by a previous owner).
SophieB
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WOW thanks Sophie that is interesting , this site sure is a gem , even after collecting glass for about thirty years i have learnt so much from the GMB and its members THANKS ALL.jp - ps what are the bases like on yours .
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From memory the base of the Ebay weight looks very similar from the base of my example. This is from memory only as I am away from home. Still, I am fairly sure that the weight sold on Ebay is indeed a 3 Fiori weight. The canes look right to me. In all likelihood, 3 Fiori used labels at some point but had moved to acid-etched marks when I bought my example.
SophieB