Baccarat paperweight

Baccarat is a French luxury brand that is known for its high-quality crystal glassware and other decorative items. The company was founded in 1764 by King Louis XV of France, who granted a royal charter to create a glassworks in the town of Baccarat, located in the Lorraine region of eastern France. The company has a long history of producing fine crystal glassware and has gained a reputation for creating some of the most beautiful and elegant pieces in the world. From the 19th century Baccarat was a leading producer of high class cut glass tableware. The company has more... also produced a wide range of other products over the years, including jewellery, lamps, and other decorative items. Today, Baccarat is still a leading producer of luxury glassware and is known for its commitment to craftsmanship and quality. It currently trades as Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat. less...

Paperweights, used to hold down papers, and most commonly made in glass, evolved in Venice in the early nineteenth century, and spread to France via Bohemia about 1845, where the finest examples were produced by three factories: Baccarat, Clichy and St Louis. Examples from these manufacturers are mostly unmarked and widely faked and imitated and thus a minefield for the uninitiated. The most popular motif is millefiori ('thousand flowers'), though fruit, single flowers, insects, and other small objects are often used as well as portraits and view. The cheaper paperweights use air bubbles as decoration. The classic paperweights are round more... and domed, but lesser weights were also made in the form of pyramids and rectangles. The early period of paperweights is reckoned to have ended in 1870 but some 20th century manufacturers such as Lalique, Kosta Boda, Whitefriars and Caithness Glass have produced some fine examples. The great majority of paper weights are unmarked, and glass rarely shows its age.

Paperweights are also made in gold, silver, silver plate, hardstone, amber, ceramic, ivory, timber and other materials. less...