Vintage View: Glass weights
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.
