THE ART OF Paperweights
THE finest antique paperweights were produced-could only have been produced-by the superlative abilities of master craftsmen, and they may therefore be said to represent the highest expression of the skill and art of the glass maker. It is hoped that this website, with its illustrations, may contribute to a wider understanding of old glass paperweights and an appreciation of their beauty and artistic importance.
Paperweights are interesting for numerous reasons. There is fascination in the study of flowers, portraits, and varied motifs portrayed under the glass, the more so since the glass magnifies and brings out the details clearly. This explains why paperweights are at best represented only indifferently in photographs: they must be handled and examined from many different angles in order to see all the jewel-like fineness of their construction. The more they are studied with a magnifying glass the more apparent becomes their charm, and interest continues to grow with increasing recognition of their fine and original workmanship.
Paperweights are interesting for numerous reasons. There is fascination in the study of flowers, portraits, and varied motifs portrayed under the glass, the more so since the glass magnifies and brings out the details clearly. This explains why paperweights are at best represented only indifferently in photographs: they must be handled and examined from many different angles in order to see all the jewel-like fineness of their construction. The more they are studied with a magnifying glass the more apparent becomes their charm, and interest continues to grow with increasing recognition of their fine and original workmanship.
The study of glass may be compared to a window which opens backward to the most remote periods of recorded history. There is, for example, the legend of the accidental discovery of glass by the Phoenicians.
A group of Phoenician sailors, the story goes, built a bonfire on the beach. Having no stones upon which they could rest their cooking utensils, they used cakes of soda which they happened to have with them. On completion of their meal, they were amazed to find that the soda had disappeared. In its place was a hard shiny substance which proved to be the first glass made by man.
Or let us glance back into the history of the ancient Egyptians. In the museum at Cairo the modern traveler sees all the priceless possessions of King Tutankhamen. Among these is a marvelous gold necklace with a hundred gold pendants inlaid with turquoise, lapis lazuli, and cloisonne of glass.
Because glass is so common in the world today, it strikes one as odd that this material should form part of these exquisite adornments of ancient kings, but our surprise ends with the realization that in those ancient times glass was so rare that it was valued above precious stones.
A group of Phoenician sailors, the story goes, built a bonfire on the beach. Having no stones upon which they could rest their cooking utensils, they used cakes of soda which they happened to have with them. On completion of their meal, they were amazed to find that the soda had disappeared. In its place was a hard shiny substance which proved to be the first glass made by man.
Or let us glance back into the history of the ancient Egyptians. In the museum at Cairo the modern traveler sees all the priceless possessions of King Tutankhamen. Among these is a marvelous gold necklace with a hundred gold pendants inlaid with turquoise, lapis lazuli, and cloisonne of glass.
Because glass is so common in the world today, it strikes one as odd that this material should form part of these exquisite adornments of ancient kings, but our surprise ends with the realization that in those ancient times glass was so rare that it was valued above precious stones.
| Anyone who studies the old mosaic glass beads of the Egyptians will find in them the designs which served hundreds of years later to give workmen their ideas for the so-called "cane" patterns used in some of the early glass paperweights.
Anyone who becomes interested in the history of glass will be delighted with many of the archaeological exhibits he will find in Egypt. In a tomb of one of the old Pharaohs near Thebes, for example, paintings on the walls show men blowing glass in very much the same way and with very much the same tools still employed in glas making at the preent time. Still preserved is a glass piece found in the tomb of Thutmose II, who reigned about 1500 b.c. |
Many centuries later the art of glass making spread to Venice and Rome. In the 12th Century glass factories were so numerous in Venice that they became a fire hazard for the city. As a result,they were moved to the Island of Murano, where the secrets of the glass makers were guarded under penalty of death. Glass makers of those days ranked with the nobility, and a daughter of a count could marry a glass maker without losing caste.
At Altarc, the seat of the glass makers' guild in the 13th Century, glass workers were eventually hired out to other districts-much to the distress of Murano. As a result, the art spread to Bohemia, France,and England; and centuries later, to the United States.
There is no reference to Venetian glass manufacture before the 13th Century, although it is noteworthy that by this time St. Marks in Venice, built in 1159, had mosaics throughout its interior, and the Venetians of the 13th and 14th Centuries were already complete masters of the use of enamel.
At Altarc, the seat of the glass makers' guild in the 13th Century, glass workers were eventually hired out to other districts-much to the distress of Murano. As a result, the art spread to Bohemia, France,and England; and centuries later, to the United States.
There is no reference to Venetian glass manufacture before the 13th Century, although it is noteworthy that by this time St. Marks in Venice, built in 1159, had mosaics throughout its interior, and the Venetians of the 13th and 14th Centuries were already complete masters of the use of enamel.
