French Baccarat Paperweights 4
| Anyone who lives with a fine collection of paperweights, however, is constantly tempted to speculate upon their possible history. This fine Baccarat, for instance, with its cross of leaves, its passion flower center-how did it come into existence? Was this perhaps the kind of poetry used by a young workman to express his wishes for a Happy Easter to his mother and father? Whatever the sentiment or the circumstances, it is sure that this glass-artist was a man of fine sensibilities, of surpassing skill, and of such integrity that no detail, however minute, suffered by neglect. So far as he was concerned, "the gods see everywhere." (See Illustration 21.)
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But, to return to the subject of the Baccarat factory and its products, it may be well to set down a number of miscellaneous points which may be of some interest.
If signed and unsigned weights are examined carefully, identical patterns may be discovered which will establish their relationship. Unsigned weights may in this way prove their right to the Baccarat classification.
All old millefiori weights, whether Venetian, French, English, or American, are interesting. Modern weights of this type from Czechoslovakia and Japan, however, must be eliminated from serious consideration by the collector. These can be identified easily through the fact that their crowns are usually higher than those of old weights of the same size. Moreover, their set-ups are not cut evenly, and usually extend below the design. When looked at crosswise, the design appears uneven and it never has the perfection of arrangement found in a fine antique weight.
In the Baccarat snake compositions a sandy effect for groundwork was sometimes mixed with green for undergrowth. A large weight might, for example, represent the earth of the Mesozoic Age. In one fine specimen of this type three green plants with white and red blossoms rise from a andy base in green and buff.
If signed and unsigned weights are examined carefully, identical patterns may be discovered which will establish their relationship. Unsigned weights may in this way prove their right to the Baccarat classification.
All old millefiori weights, whether Venetian, French, English, or American, are interesting. Modern weights of this type from Czechoslovakia and Japan, however, must be eliminated from serious consideration by the collector. These can be identified easily through the fact that their crowns are usually higher than those of old weights of the same size. Moreover, their set-ups are not cut evenly, and usually extend below the design. When looked at crosswise, the design appears uneven and it never has the perfection of arrangement found in a fine antique weight.
In the Baccarat snake compositions a sandy effect for groundwork was sometimes mixed with green for undergrowth. A large weight might, for example, represent the earth of the Mesozoic Age. In one fine specimen of this type three green plants with white and red blossoms rise from a andy base in green and buff.
| In the center of the weight stands a black animal with a long white-spotted tail, the ferocity of the beast confirmed by its balefully glowing red eye. This weight is an outstanding example of its kind. The snakes with raised heads are considered superior examples. The one shown has red and green markings and rests on a lacy background which was also used.
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