More About Making Paperweights 5
Every cane was eventually cut into thin cross-sections by means of emery dipped in water, and the sections, called "set-ups," were carefully polished, and formed the attractive patterns in the weights.
In making the millefiori or mosaic set-ups (Ital. mille, "thousand" ; fiori, "flowers"---"thousand flowers") the workmen took slender rods of different colors and fused them together while hot, welded them more firmly, and again drew them to the length desired. If a bubble appeared in any rod or cane, the same bubble was naturally repeated throughout its length.
In making the millefiori or mosaic set-ups (Ital. mille, "thousand" ; fiori, "flowers"---"thousand flowers") the workmen took slender rods of different colors and fused them together while hot, welded them more firmly, and again drew them to the length desired. If a bubble appeared in any rod or cane, the same bubble was naturally repeated throughout its length.
| A handblown strawberry from our collection of Mid-Century Modern art glass. This paperweight was probably blown in the 1960's when the West Virginia glass companies were busy and profitable. You can see more items like this at Our Antique Shop.
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In making a simple filigree, the workman took a quantity of crystal and put it into a long round mold lined with alternating opaque and clear crystal rods. This form came from the mold fused into a cylindrical solid. After marvering to perfect the amalgamation, it was heated again and given another plating of crystal. Then a workman seated in a cradle took the free end of the glass in his pincers, and twirled the cylinder with his left hand, drawing out the spiral to about a quarter of an inch. Colored threads were sometimes added before the lastplating to vary the lacy effect.
An unusual style of ornamentaton is the lacy bead work. This is found in the early St. Louid weights. To produce this bead effect, six opaque rods were alternated with crystal rods in a cylinder. One end of the cylinder was scaled and flattened into a kind of sheath. More glass was gathered on each side of this structure, and the whole was molded into a cylndrical solid.
Twirling in a complicated fashion transformed the imprisoned rods into the semblance of chaplet beads. Occasionally, red and blue threads of glass were added to this type of construction before the last plating of glass.
An unusual style of ornamentaton is the lacy bead work. This is found in the early St. Louid weights. To produce this bead effect, six opaque rods were alternated with crystal rods in a cylinder. One end of the cylinder was scaled and flattened into a kind of sheath. More glass was gathered on each side of this structure, and the whole was molded into a cylndrical solid.
Twirling in a complicated fashion transformed the imprisoned rods into the semblance of chaplet beads. Occasionally, red and blue threads of glass were added to this type of construction before the last plating of glass.
| A handblown Blenko apple in all it's glory. If you click for the larger image you can see the reflections of all the other bright shiny objects in the room where I photographed it. You can see this item an more at Our Antique Shop. That is where we show off our own collections and the things we have for sale.
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If the filigree was flattened while in the plastic condition, the Italians called it latticinio. To produce this effect, a delicate cylinder of glass was put into a clay mold which had been lined with alternating white opaque and white crystal rods. After their adhesion, these were removed from the mold and twirled to form a spiral pattern. A slight puff of air might be used to change the cylinder to a spherical form, and through the use of more heat, it could be collapsed like a hollow rubber ball. Fashioned to resemble lacy network, this filigree was given a slight plating of crystal to preserve its form.
Latticinio network had almost died out atthe beginning of the last century, but it was revived during the period from 1830 to 1840. Latticinio effect often formed a base in the millefiori and fruit weights. The delicate net was placed directly over the pattern in the weight, sometimes being separated by a thin sheet of crystal above the base. The skill lay in blowing to just the right size to fit the base of the weight.
Latticinio network had almost died out atthe beginning of the last century, but it was revived during the period from 1830 to 1840. Latticinio effect often formed a base in the millefiori and fruit weights. The delicate net was placed directly over the pattern in the weight, sometimes being separated by a thin sheet of crystal above the base. The skill lay in blowing to just the right size to fit the base of the weight.
