Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass Paperweights => Topic started by: Ekimp on January 09, 2018, 02:31:25 PM
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Hi. Information on the origin and age of this paperweight would be appreciated, thanks.
The filaments are alternate black and white arranged in five vertical segments. The filaments in each segment run around the outside then in towards the centre like the skin on a segment of orange. In the middle there is a large single bubble.
The paperweight is approximately 69mm diameter, 71mm high and weighs 450g. It has a depression in the bottom with a cleanly snapped pontil in the centre that is 10mm diameter. There is wear to the bottom indicating it has some age, possibly vintage.
The only thing like it that I have found online is new and has a superficially similar pattern but is much less fine and without a central bubble. The similar design is made in Brazil and it says ‘inspired by Murano’ so wondered if this could be from Murano.
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Saw a similar weight recently that was made by Teign Valley Glass, look for the tiny engraved letters TVG close to the pontil mark.
John
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Thanks John, I’ve had a look with a magnifier and there aren’t any markings. I’ll look into TVG as a possibility.
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This type of decoration is called "combed". Ignore the clear outer layer for a moment - it was added later. Originally the core had a black spiral of glass added. The maker then dragged a tool from top to bottom - pulling the spiral out of shape. In this example each of the 5 drags was in the same direction. Finally a layer of clear glass was added.
If the dragging had been done in both directions you get what is known as "pulled feather" of which my Orient & Flume Pen Holder is an excellent example.
In my experience this type of decor is very common from the USA. However over there they would normally not coat it with clear glass.
Ross
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Hi Ross, thanks for your info and this paperweight does look similar to the combed type you mention, but i don’t think this is how my paperweight was made. In my paperweight, the filaments go around the outside circumference of each segment and then in at a tangent towards the central bubble at each edge of each segment (like the skin on a segment of an orange). The filaments aren’t just on the outside surface. It looks like it may have been made by assembling five sections, then blowing a bubble.
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You don't create paperweights by sticking together bits. The technique used will be similar to that Ross has described
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Possible not, but that’s what it looks like. I assume lamp work paperweights and those with canes are made from more than one bit stuck or fused together.
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They are encased not stuck and everything has to be compatible or it doesn't work. You'd be surprised at complex paperweights can be made by hotworking.
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This You Tube is a very crude demonstartion but it shows the principle of combing very well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBZb2bkn4KU
Ross
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Hi Ekimp. I cannot identify your weight, but could you please, for interest, confirm a couple of points:
a) The "sections of an orange" that you described ... do you mean that there is a visible indented line between sections rising from the bottom to the top?
b) Is the surface of the weight completely smooth?
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Hi KevinH,
Sorry, it’s hard to describe in text!
a) there is no visible indentation.
b) yes, it is completely smooth.
The decoration isn’t just on the surface so it isn’t simple combed decoration as shown in the YouTube clip above. If you took a section horizontally through the weight, it would look like a wheel with five spokes with a hole in the middle. For each section, the decoration goes around the outside of the wheel, then down the spokes to the hole in the middle, which is the bubble.
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The decoration is often done before a paperweight is encased in its final layer. Combing doesn't have to be surface decoration
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Liskeard? I happened to look through a Miller’s Collectables book this afternoon and saw something similar from Liskeard. Looking on the internet there seem to be some quite like this weight but with four sections. There is no mark on my weight but could anyone confirm Liskeard? Thanks.
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It is highly unlikely to be Liskeard Glass. They made 2 varieties of paperweight. The first "St. Tudy" in the 70s and the second variety "LG" later. Both are marked by the pontil mark being stamped(see photos attached). Your pontil mark has simply been "cracked off" which is typical of a small studio maker.
I am afraid that simple "looks like" is actually a poor way of attributing an item. This is because glass makers get ideas from what others have done and try out new processes to try and replicate results - thus extending their range of technical skills. Also they move from place to place and may make a familiar object - just not where it is typically made.
Unfortunately, we all have items we are not able to attribute satisfactorily. It is just one of those things.
Ross
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Merlin Glass.
Hi all and thanks for your replies. I’ve been having another look at this and still felt it looked like some Liskeard weights. I see after Liam Carey bought Liskeard Glass in 1983 he renamed it Merlin Glass and I’ve seen Merlin Glass weights only have a paper label.
I sent Merlin Glass an email today with photos showing the overall design and pontil scar with a description of the five segments and large central bubble. Carol got back to me very quickly with a nice email saying that Liam believes he made it but couldn’t remember when but it was a few years ago now. That’s good enough for me, very pleased!
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...and a matching perfume bottle. I thought this was interesting - I suppose Mr Carey blew a bit harder and then turned it around to shape the neck.
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Congratulations on your detective work. And thanks for getting back to us about your success. It may help us help someone else in the future.
Ross