Baccarat close-packed millefiori mushroom glass paperweight, circa 1850

Baccarat close-packed millefiori mushroom glass paperweight, circa 1850, the tuft comprising assorted brightly coloured composite canes spreading from an elongated stem into a mushroom shape near the crown of the weight, all within a spiralling blue and white latticinio torsade, with a star-cut base.

Diameter: 7.7cm. (3 in.)

Notes: The millefiori (‘thousand flowers’ in Italian) paperweight technique was most likely developed concurrently by glassworkers in Venice, France and Bohemia during the 1830s; the earliest extant examples date to the 1840s. However, France soon emerged as the centre of production, with three manufactories in particular producing a range of weights of exceedingly high quality: Baccarat, Saint Louis, and Clichy. The Baccarat factory had been founded in the 18th century and was known for its high quality crystalware including bottles, stemware and chandeliers; its glass particularly heavy due to its high lead content. Its artisans perfected the millefiori technique in the mid-19th century. Interestingly, Baccarat was the only factory to produce canes with twenty and twenty-two cogs.

Provenance:

Sotheby's New Bond Street, London, 26th January 1970, Lot 145.

Dimensions

Price on application

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance

Stock number