Topic: unusual floral paperweight , polished pontil

[Andy]

Just picked up a little group of nice paperweights, most signed, this one is very nice,
quite unusual, maybe old? Polished pontil, a few ash inclusions, and striations in the glass,
but the flowers are unusual, ( im no PW expert but seems well made).
Had a few problems with photos, hope these are ok.
Any suggestions??
Cheers
Andy

[Andy]

Just thought id add a few photos. im finding it hard to show the 3d effect on this one.
There are 5 flowers. 4 around the side and one straight up. The stalks start from near the centre.
Each flower is paper thin, made up of many flakes of different colours, the centre of the flower is an
amber covered bubble.
Any help, anyone?
Andy

[glasstrufflehunter]

The 'flower spray' look reminds me of paperweights from India. Generally those have three flower sprays. This could still be from India. The flower shapes are made with a pick which leaves a bubble in the centre. The finishing on the base is different.

[Andy]

Thanks gth,
I wonderered if there are any other suggestions, with the pontil as a clue, the flowers appear
paper thin, i would think fairly hard to make, maybe the quality is not too good with the striations,
bubbles and ash in the weight? I cant see much age wear to the base, but the area around the
pontil is difficult to see, it appears to have still been molten and a bit lumpy when finished?

I know it hasnt got any fancy canes, but any other ideas?
Regards
Andy

[glasstrufflehunter]

After studying the pictures and comparing with my Indian weights (I have several) I'm positive this is Indian. With the exception of the hollow grinding on the base it looks Indian to me. The portion of the base that is not ground looks Indian. Two of my Indian weights have very thin sprays. The golden colour in the weight is consistent with what I have seen in Indian weights but I do not have one with that particular colour.

Does the glass have a yellowish cast? A couple of mine do.

[Andy]

hi gth,
thanks again, no yellowish to the glass, just looks like looking into thick liquid with all the
swirls in the glass, its pretty, Indian sounds good to me.
Regards
Andy

[glasstrufflehunter]

It is very pretty. I like the colours and it is much nicer than the usual Indian weight. You got a good 'un.

[aa]

i would think fairly hard to make

Comparatively, very easy to make!
I'm not convinced it's Indian. Looks like studio glass, probably 3rd qtr C20

Flowers are made by laying out frit, picking up the colour, pushing in a spike and then dropping a couple of crystals of silver chloride
into the indentation. The silver chloride creates the yellow bubble and aurora effect when gathered over. The silver chloride also reacts with the coloured frit to create different colours.

[RAY]

the base look's more like it's been fire polished than ground

[Andy]

Thanks Adam and Ray,

'Comparatively, very easy to make!'

Adam, easy for you, i cant even wire a plug
Could well be a studio piece, as i say, its got a polished pontil, and does look like its had heat
applied to the surround.
Cheers
Andy