Vintage View: Glass weights

OSCAR WILDE collected them and Truman Capote adored their jewel-like mystery. Since the 1851 Great Exhibition in London showcased the charm and beauty of the French paperweights, glass weights have inspired generations of makers of these treasured fancies. The three great names in antique weights are Clichy, Baccarat and St. Louis, all of France, and producing in the golden years 1845-1860. These gems of the glass makers’ art are known for their tiny candy canes of millefiori in tightly packed blossoms, ribbons, ‘stardust’ grounds and intricate lampwork inclusions. Even slightly damaged examples of these tiny formal gardens are expensive investments known the world over, with prices starting in the area of €500 for a piece with a few indents or rubs to the base.

As well as American and British examples of showy weights, 19th century ‘dump’ or ‘end-of-day’ paperweights were made by ordinary glass blowers with unused glass at the end of a factory shift. They are large, generally green, and often include attractive lacy flowers conjured in airy bubbles, suspending the breath of the maker for infinity. The Victorians used the larger dumps as door stops, so clean examples are highly prized and start in the area of €150. More accessible are the mid to late 20th century weights, in particular those from a group of Scottish weight makers including Caithness, who are still at the height of their creative powers with magical peaty tones and star-scattered skies taken from the wild Scottish scenery. Rare editions in abstract forms drawn from nature, space and sheer fantasy can command three and even four figure sums. Weights made by mundane factories and smaller studios became popular again from the 1960s forward and were produced by the millions across Europe, keeping prices for collectors of good, flawless weights well within reach. Whether you like antique Victorian advertising weights or Murano confections, collectors’ clubs for your chosen weight can tell you all you need to know about identifying and attributing weights in concentric, close packed, swirls, sulphides and crowns.

Names to conjure with include the studios of Strathearn, Perthshire, Peter McDougall, Peter Holmes, Willie Manson and my favourite in late and new weights John Deacon. Deacon’s astonishing technique, including dense canes and tumbled latticinio, rivals that of the French classics for under €50 a weight, boxed and certified. Mdina Italian weights in their mossy-based seahorse shape, previously regarded as 70s kitsch, are also gaining ground and can be picked up for under €10 at boot sales, charity shops and Ebay.ie.

The bulbous top of a weight is referred to as the dome, and can be lofty or very flat. Bohemian weights favoured layered colours and a faceted dome showing a variety of pictures. The dome magnifies the interior and as the highest point, is the first place to take an accidental knock. A glass weight should be perfectly balanced, without any foggy colour cast, striations, folds, nicks or other faults. Knowing where the weight was made adds to its collectability, so preserve any paper stickers, boxes or certificates as part of its provenance. Some weights may be signed or identified by a name or mark in the inclusions; Perthshire, for example, has a single ‘P’. Decorative paperweights are meant to be viewed from a variety of aspects, and beg to be held and turned, but this is where they can pick up ‘bruising’, flea-bites (tiny nicks) and other scuffs. Handle them with extreme care and swat away children. Even a nick to the base or honest rub marks will count as a flaw, so don’t place two weights close enough to wallop against each other if bounced.