Photograph by Shannon Ruff, Canon EOS Mark II D digital slr-2006.

Concentric Millefiori Paperweight

Manufacturer Gillinder & Sons (American, 1867 - 1930)

CultureAmerican

Dateca. 1861-1871

MediumGlass

DimensionsOverall: 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm)

Credit LineGift of Paul and Irene Hollister

Object number97.41.15

Not on view

DescriptionThis is a colorless glass set with a central cane and three concentric rings of canes. The center cane is a white ruffle with a ruby lining. The canes of the innermost ring each consist of a white ruffle surrounding a blue cylinder with seven white dots. The canes of the next ring each consist of white ruffles with a clear greenish-yellow center. The outermost ring matches the cane at the center of the weight.

Label TextConcentric Millefiori Paperweight Gillinder & Sons Manufacturer 19th-Century Glass Paperweights No paperweights were made before the mid 19th century, when three developments converged to create an unprecedented flurry of letter writing among the middle classes and hence the need for paperweights: The new paper made from wood pulp (instead of rags) made paper plentiful and cheap; steel pens nibs replaced quills, making writing easier; and improved postal systems greatly reduced the cost of mailing letters. The first glass paperweights were made in 1845 by Pietro Bigaglia of Venice, who looked to the glass millefiori decorated spheres of Renaissance Venice. (Millefiori, which means "a thousand flowers" in Italian, is the technique whereby glass rods with designs running end-to-end are drawn out while hot into thin rods, then cooled and cut into small cross sections showing the design.) The great French factories - Baccarat, Clichy and Saint-Louis - began making paperweights almost immediately, and so successfully that French paperweights became the world standard. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Hollister 97.41.15ProvenanceMr. and Mrs. Paul Hollister; Gift of Paul and Irene Hollister to the Chrysler Museum of Art, 1997.