New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2006.

Joan Of Arc Sulphide Paperweight

Manufacturer Compagnie des Verreries et Cristalleries de Baccarat (French, founded 1764)

CultureFrench

Dateca. 1848-1855

MediumGlass | Sulphide

DimensionsOverall: 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number95.7.3

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 117, Study Gallery Case 2

DescriptionThis Joan of Arc sulphide paperweight is made of facet-cut colorless glass with a ruby casing on the bottom and a sulphide inlcusion depicting a standing figure of Joan of Arc framed by oak and laurel branches.

Label TextJoan of Arc Paperweight Attributed to the Cristalleries de Baccarat, France, ca. 1848-1855 Colorless and ruby glass encasing sulphide; facet-cut Museum Purchase 95.7.3 One of the grandest of French sulphide paperweights, this faceted weight with its bold ruby ground was obviously made for the French market. Joan of Arc, here surrounded by oak and laurel branches, was extremely popular as a symbol of nationalism in 19th-century France. (She would not be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church until the 20th century.) The insertion of this unusually complex and delicate image into hot glass probably required considerable skill on the part of the glassworker. Edited By: GLYExhibition History"Treasures for the Community: The Chrysler Collects, 1989-1996," October 25,1996 - March 2, 1997 Published ReferencesPaul Hollister, GLASS PAPERWEIGHTS OF THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY (New York: Clarkson N. Potter Inc., 1974), p. 96, plate 78.