Part I: Antique Paperweights and Related Objects 1. Very rare Baccarat three-flower bouquet weight containing a purple
4. Extremely rare Saint Louis dated paneled carpet ground weight
and yellow pansy, with a stardust/bull s-eye cane center, a blue and white
with the central sulphide o f Empress Josephine encircled by six spokes of
primrose, with a stardust/bull’s-eye cane center, and a large white double
white and ruby cog/star canes, dividing alternating panels o f pink and blue
clematis, with a six-pointed star/star cane center, growing on gathered
cogs. The sulphide cameo o f Empress Josephine is framed by a ruby tube
stem s w ith a yello w an d p u rp le bu d an d sp rin g green leaves.
inside a garland o f pink cogs with chartreuse interiors. “ In these abso
In the parlance of Victorian flower language, the prim rose symbolizes
lutely spectacular weights the sulphide is enclosed in a thick, blood red,
youth. The pansy speaks o f friendship, while the clematis wishes for luck.
jelly-like tube that imparts to the head a surrealistic sensation o f being
Together, the flowers express the desire for a new friendship to continue.
both alive and dead, like a severed head. It is the surrealistic overtones
“ Large multifloral bouquets were a specialty o f Baccarat and displayed
coupled with the patriotic red, white and blue o f the carpet panels o f two
the highest degree o f skill in lampwork and millefiori techniques” — Bac
of these weights that has urged upon the author the notion that the lady
carat: Paperweights and Related Glass, 1820-1860“ Good examples of French bouquet paperweights are quite rare and command top prices.” — Paper weights for Collectors. (See The Art o f the Paperweight— Challenging Tra dition, p. 23; The Encyclopedia o f Glass Paperweights, p. 68; Glass Paper weights o f The New York Historical Society, p. 67; Paperweights: “Flowers which clothe the meadows', p. 75) see front cover.
may not be Josephine at all but the spirit o f France in the Revolution of
Diameter 3 3/i6M.
$ 16 ,0 0 0 -2 0 ,0 0 0
2. Very rare Baccarat seven-flower bouquet weight containing a cen tral yellow buttercup, with stardust stamens, encircled by three millefiori fantasy flowers and three blue forget-me-nots, on entwined stems with
1848.” — The Encyclopedia o f Glass Paperweights. “ This is a very rare type, and very beautiful.” — Antique Glass Paperweightsfrom France.“A few rare weights have a small sulphide decoration over a carpet ground.” — The Jokelson Collection o f Antique Cameo Incrustation. (See Antique Glass Pa perweights from France, p. 4; The Encyclopedia of Glass Paperweights, p. 261; One Hundred o f the Most Important Paperweights, p. 147; Paperweights: “Flowers which clothe the meadows”, p. 35) see front cover , see detail p . 15. Diameter 2 3/4 ".
$ 12 ,0 0 0 - 16 ,0 0 0
5. Very rare Baccarat ruby snake weight, the black-eyed reptile, with
spring green leaves. The arrangem ent floats above a star-cut ground.
subtly shaded ruby coils, poses on a sandy ground flecked with bits o f green
“ Nearly all examples o f flat floral bouquets show paperweight making at
glass and mica. Oftentimes, the appearance o f these weights is spoiled by
its gayest and most exuberant, belying the Victorian reputation for the lu
an air ring that appeared around the body o f the snake during the encase
gubrious.” — The Encyclopedia of Glass Paperweights. “ In 1848, the intro
ment process. This example is notably pristine. “ The tubular bodies o f the
duction o f lampwork added significantly to Baccarats already versatile use
snakes lie coiled above whatever ground is used in one and a half or two
of millefiori canes as decorative and identifying devices. Star and arrow
turns, the head usually resting on a coil, the tiny button eyes with an ex
canes center many flower types; the arrows were sometimes also used for
pression o f benign asininity if the eye is black pupil on white, or drunken
lower pansy petals (as illustrated here) and for stylized arrangements...” —
bliss if it is black pupil on red or orange.” — The Encyclopedia o f Glass Pa
Glass Paperweights in The Art Institute o f Chicago. (See The Art o f the Pa perweight— Challenging Tradition, p. 23; The Encyclopedia o f Glass Paper weights, p. 68; Glass Paperweights o f The New- York Historical Society, p. 67; Paperweights: “Flowers which clothe the meadows”, p. 75) see back cover .
perweights. “ Reptiles were relatively rare among the anim al motifs o f the
Diameter 3 Vie".
$ 18 ,0 0 0 -2 2 ,0 0 0
classic period, although they were com m on sym bols o f renewal and youth.” — Glass Paperweights in The Art Institute o f Chicago, see front cover . Diameter 3".
$ 8 0 0 0 -10 ,0 0 0
6. Very rare Baccarat snake on lace weight, the reptile, with black and
3. Very rare Baccarat triple clematis bouquet weight, a formal arrange
orange eyes, and celery-colored coils decorated with emerald green glass,
ment, containing three ruby blossoms, with green and white stardust/bull s-
poses on a white lace cushion. “ Baccarat artisans merged two images of
eye cane centers, on a stalk with a closed red bud and two types of emerald
elegance with this portrayal o f a snake on a lace cushion. One wonders
green leaves, over a star-cut ground. This piece was formerly part o f the
what story lies behind its construction. The lace causes one to think that
collection of the New-York Historical Society. “More formal in appearance
the piece belonged to a woman, or that it was meant to characterize a
is the Baccarat set piece, bottom left, o f three red clematis with long sym
woman. Femmefatale — the idea of the female being alluring, yet possess
metrical lower leaves.” — Glass Paperweights o f The New-York Historical
ing a painful bite, was a popular image in art and poetry at the time. Or,
Society. (See Annual Bulletin o f the Paperweight Collectors Association (1983), p. 19; Annual Bulletin of the Paperweight Collectors Association
perhaps this is a representation of the serpent who tempted Eve. The en tire presentation is m asterfully put together.” — The Art o f the Paper
(i975))p. 12; Christies London June 3 ,19 8 6 sale,lot 359; Christies London
weight— Challenging Tradition. (See A Collectors Guide to Paperweights, p.
April 8 ,19 7 5 sale, lot 16 6 ; Glass Paperweights of The New-York Historical
43; Glass Paperweights o f The Bergstrom-Mahler Museum, plate 59, ill. 108;
Society, p. 70; Sotheby’s New York January 18 ,19 9 5 sale, lot 303; Sotheby’s
The Spinning Wheel [April 1956], p. 36)
Parke-Bernet May 3 1 ,19 7 7 sale, lot 3 11; Sotheby’s London April 16 ,19 7 3
D iam eter3 Vs\
sale, lot 103) Diameter 2 13/i6M.
2
$ 13 ,0 0 0 - 15 ,0 0 0
SPRING 2 0 0 0
$ 8 0 0 0 -10 ,0 0 0