Belgian Fine Glass Paperweights
The Val Saint Lambert factory was established in a Cistercian Abbey near Seraing in Belgium. It was founded by John Cockerill (1790 - 1840), an Englishman,and eventually became one of the largest enterprises of its kind in Europe. At one time it employed as many as 5,000 workmen. The glass produced was of fine quality, and rivaled that of England and France. Another Val Saint Lambert factory was founded in 1825 by two Frenchmen named Lelievere and Kemlin. This factory reached its greatest development later under the management of Jules Deprez. It is still running today, and is as famous in Belgium as St.Louis and Baccarat in France.
Val Saint Lambert produced paperweights in a great variety of designs and forms, all of which were made on a large scale. Val Saint Lambert used a remarkably thin overlay---which,however, is distinctly not flash. A design was cut through this overlay, revealing the center pattern. Val Saint Lambert's patterns, unfortunately, are rather unattractive.
| The Val Saint Lambert weight shown on the left is a blue cut overlay
with a pink opaque center. Over the center are four twisted loops of
white opaque glass interspersed with bubbles. Another similar twist lies
on the outside rim of the center pattern. This weight, with its
extremely high crown, is as interesting as it is unusual.
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It may be said parenthetically at this point that flash can be recognized in the following manner. If you look through a weight along the edges where it has been cut or etched, and if you find along these edges a chip or scratch that looks white, you may be reasonably sure that the specimen is treated with flash and not genuine overlay. Flash is blown on or applied with a brush, never dipped as in the genuine old process.
