Topic: Antique Paperweight - Glass ball with snake ID Help Please

[obscurities]

I bought this at an auction several years back as it fascinated me completely...... It is quite old and I am a total novice at paperweights... Don't really collect them, this was just too different to pass on...  The whole thing is about 4 inches tall, the glass is about 2 inches in diameter.....  Any helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated.....  Origin? Age?  ??

Thanks, Craig

[KevinH]

That is a fascinating item. Is the snake actually glass?

[obscurities]

No, I am sorry if I did not state that. The snake is actually cast metal attached to the glass. It is attached by a small post off the bottom of the snake that goes into the glass ball. It appears it used to be quite colorful from the polychrome remnants that are present.  There is a lot of age wear to the glass, and obviously to the metal snake.

Not only is it quite a fascinating piece, the story behind it is just as unique.

The source of the item was the home of some fanatic and obsessive compulsive collectors (in the true medical definition of OCD) that stashed things away for decades in Banana boxes that were cataloged. There were literally hundreds of banana boxes filled with stuff in their home.  They filled up a huge house doing it. They passed away, and after many years of still living there, their son decided to auction the goods off. The house was a wreck and had a leaky roof, yet no one had ever opened boxes to see what was in them to try to sell some stuff and fix the roof leaks. Instead, there were paths of old VHS tapes laying on the floor in places so one could walk on them and not get wet feet when it rained and the leaks would get the carpets wet in places. I am talking of wet feet in the living room!! We can be kind and say the son had also grown up with some personality quirks!!  When the house was emptied by the auction house, there were a couple of small rooms in the home the son had never seen or knew were there that had been filled up prior to his being born, and the doors were hidden by stacked boxes that had never been moved..... This was found in a box buried deep in the house with other glass goods, and was wrapped in newspaper dating it to the early 1960's, when it had been put away.... They had shopped in thrift stores and such before most of us were even born or knew what a thrift store was......  The stuff that came out of the boxes was pretty unbelievable... but that is a different story... an incredible one!!! I'll suffice to say that we found one single box of old glass and pottery that would have put a new roof on the place....easily.....  and they could have also paid for a hotel to stay in while it was being done.

I ran the weekly sale division of the auction house for several years in Seattle until around 3 years ago. That,  combined with 3 decades browsing in thrift stores, antique malls and rummage and estate sales......  add 10 years on ebay to that, combined with an untold number of hours on the internet doing all kinds of glass and other research.... and I have never seen another even closely resembling it.......

I am hoping someone out there that sees this has.....

Craig

[KevinH]

Thanks for that info Craig.

The snake reminds me of mass produced tin toys from the 1950s and earlier. The glass orb could, of course have been made anywhere and produced as a base for al sorts of things. If this metal-on-glass piece was mass produced, then maybe there is a good chance that somebody will recognise it - although, as you say, in all your years of experience it's the first you've seen.

Sorry that I can't add anything more than that.

[obscurities]

Thanks, The look and feel of it are such that I would venture a guess as to an age of around 1900. The glass reminds me of early sulfide paperweights I have seen sold through the auction house.... but again, It is the only paperweight I have ever really paid much attention to.
Craig

[obscurities]

Thought I would bump this up to see if there are fresh eyes.

[Nicholas.]

       I have a feeling that what you have may be a "cold painted" Viennese bronze. These small bronzes were at the height of their popularity around 1900 and were made by a number of companies, the best known of which was Bergman's.
      Bergman's did not always sign their works, especially when very small, however when they did sign they used either their name, the initial "B", the initial "B" in a tiny vase-shaped mark or at times "Nam Greb" (their name in reverse), the latter signature particularly when the item was of an erotic nature.
   Have a look to see whether the areas where the "cold painted" finish has worn away look at all like patinated bronze or brass and test with a magnet as well.
   If your snake is a "Viennese Bronze", then the fitting of the glass ball would have been given as little consideration as would have been given to fitting a base in marble or any other material. Generally the bronze will be found to be the interesting part.
   You can find many websites offering "Viennese Bronzes" , both genuine and fake, on the Internet. "Salzburg Creations" is one such website that I think may be useful.
                                                              Nicholas.