More French, Clichy Paperweights 2
The Clichy overlay weights are of the double overlay type. The opaque glass forming the outside overlay is usually of light or dark blue, rose, or a green, which is very rare, and the center canes are often arranged in the mushroom style and usually contain a Clichy rose. The faceting of the circles is smaller than found in the St. Louis weights, and a single overlay has yet to be found. All the French factories made a mushroom type of weight.
| The Clichy snake weights are interesting and easily distinguishable from those of Baccarat. The Baccarat snake subjects are usually placed upon a sandy background. Clichy weights of this type, on the contrary, were formed upon a lacy background. The swirl weight comes in all the colors of the Clichy factory and the characteristic canes appear in the center unit (Illustration 28).
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| The construction of glass paperweights in general, and of a signed Clichy candy type weight in particular, is brought out by the illustration of a cracked section shown on the left. The picture shows clearly the depth of the canes used in forming the pattern. The Clichy glass paperweights should not be confused with the Clichy glass prints. These glass prints had a great vogue in France during the Renaissance, but they were not made at the Clichy factory.
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The characteristic "scratches on glass" were made through exposure of the prints to the sun. The process was used by Corot, Daubigny, Millet, and Rosseau. It is one that is entirely forgotten today, but it is often mistaken for glass made at the Clichy factory.
The collector of antique crystal will do well to bear in mind that there were no schools for glass such as there were for porcelains like those produced by Wedgewood or Haviland. In glass, everything is much more vague and indefinite. It must be recognized that in assigning certain items to certain classes, the classification is often based upon nothing more substantial than a supposition. Collectors have no other choice but to bide their time in the hope of learning more eventually regarding some of the French compositions.
The collector of antique crystal will do well to bear in mind that there were no schools for glass such as there were for porcelains like those produced by Wedgewood or Haviland. In glass, everything is much more vague and indefinite. It must be recognized that in assigning certain items to certain classes, the classification is often based upon nothing more substantial than a supposition. Collectors have no other choice but to bide their time in the hope of learning more eventually regarding some of the French compositions.
