Art Institute of Chicago

Paperweight

Saint-Louis Glassworks (Cristalleries de Saint-Louis)

Date

19th century

Medium

Glass

Culture

Saint-Louis-lès-Bitche

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This paperweight uses a traditional glass-making technique called millefiori to great effect. Italian for “one thousand flowers,” millefiori was first developed in fifteenth-century Venice. In the nineteenth century, French glassmakers revived the technique with a cultural twist. Arranged to evoke traditional French gardens such as the Tuileries in Paris, paperweights like this example brought a little of this landscaping magic indoors. From the late 1840s to early 1860s, French manufacturers of fine glass and crystal—such as Baccarat (Alsace), Clichy (Paris), and Saint-Louis (Lorraine)—catered to the vast public enthusiasm for beautiful yet functional desk accessories. Paperweights, which were designed to secure loose papers against drafts, were among their most popular products.

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