Allan's Paperweights

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Paperweights From Other Countries


The glass paperweights on this page are from other countries not well known for their paperweights.  Some of these are inexpensive fun paperweights.

If you would like to purchase any of these paperweights, e-mail me at: aport@paperweights.com
 
 



1378 Unusual Faceted Paperweight Dr. Appleton Two Snakes Drinking From Bowl (Caduceus  or Bowl of Hygieia).  circa 1930 - 1970.  This has an interesting design with two green snakes encircling the blue stem and bowl of a chalice or vessel.  At first glance, it resembles the medical caduceus or even the staff of rod of Asclepius, but this design has two snakes drinking from a bowl.  More likely, it is a variation on the Bowl of Hygieia, which is the recognized international symbol of pharmacy.  The bowl represents a medicinal potion and the snakes represent healing.  The design is hand decorated on a white circular enamel plaque.  The glass has a light rose color.  It is finished with 30 side facets in three rows and has a sixteen point star cut on the base. 
 
Two experts have advised me that this paperweight was made in the municipality of Marinha Grande in Portugal where the glass manufacturing industry was first established in the middle of the 18th century.   Paperweights with essentially the same construction have been found with inscriptions on the underside of the plaque stating the origin as Marinha Grande.  I believe this paperweight was decorated by hand, but it is possible that a printed decal image (ceramic transfer) was used and then finished by hand.

Large size:  3 1/16" diameter by 2 15/16" high.  The base has a sixteen point star cut.  It is finished with 30 side facets in three rows.
Condition:  Very good condition.  It has some scratches and tiny pinpricks.
Signature:  Unsigned, but I guarantee that this was made in Portugal, most likely in Marinha Grande.

For extra pictures, click on the picture at the right and the following links: 

Large picture
Top view
Side view
Another view
Closeup
Star cut base
SOLD.

Click on the picture to see a larger image.

Click on the picture to see a larger image
Unusual Faceted Paperweight Dr. Appleton Two Snakes Drinking From Bowl (Caduceus  or Bowl of Hygieia)
5058 Dramatic Marcolin (Sweden) Sfumato Technique Owl Figural Paperweight.  circa 1961-1991.  This dramatic owl figural paperweight demonstrates the excellence of Marcolin's use of the sfumato technique to create a smokey feathered appearance. The upper figural owl portion is clear glass with a round sfumato paperweight base.  There is a slight reddish tinge to the grey color of the sfumato.  This paperweight design was unique to Marcolin.  It is unsigned but I guarantee the attribution.  A fantastic example.

Please ignore the white areas, they are glare from the lights.

Note:  Please review the pictures.  This paperweight has a large (3/4") scratch on the back next to base.

FM Marcolin Art Crystal or FM Marcolin Konstglas was founded Sweden in 1961 by two Italian brothers, Josef and Benito Marcolin.  They learned their glass making skills on the island of Murano, Venice, and later worked at Reijmyre before starting their own company.  FM stands for Färe-Marcolin.  The company went through several name changes as they moved from one location to another, including "FM Konstglas, Eneryda""FM Konstglas, Ronneby", and then "FM Konstglas / Marcolin".  "Konstglas" is Swedish for "Art Glass".  The company changed its name to FM Marcolin Art Crystal in 1983, and in 1988-89 changed again to Marcolin Art Crystal.  The Swedish factory closed in 1991, and production was moved to Sardinia, Italy.  The Marcolin brothers left and went their separate ways, Benito moved back to Sweden, while Josef moved to Austria and continued production under the name Marcolin Art Crystal, which is still operating today.

Marcolin pieces are often signed, including a pattern number, on the base, which consists of the initial of the designer, and model number of the item, sometimes followed by the size of the item in millimeters.  Designer codes include: M - Josef Marcolin, B - Benito Marcolin, and F - Inga-Lill Färe.  Production was mainly glass figurines, with a unique blended style of Swedish and Murano. They use traditional Murano techniques such as millefiori, sommerso, zanfirico, and sfumato (as in this piece). 

The term Sfumato originated in painting.  Leonardo da Vinci described the technique as blending colors, without the use of lines or borders "in the manner of smoke".  In glass, it is the use of a smokey bubbled texture to create a soft feathered or quilted appearance.  Marcolin often used sfumato on bird figurines. 

Large Size:  The rounded base is 3 1/8" diameter.  The paperweight is 3" (80 mm) high. The bottom ground flat.     
Condition:  Very good condition overall.  There are some scratches on the base and one large scratch on the back next to the base that is just over 3/4" long.  Otherwise in excellent condition with no other scratches, chips or cracks. 
Signature:  Unsigned, but I guarantee that this was made by Marcolin in Sweden.  

For extra pictures, click on the picture at the right and the following links: 

Large picture of the paperweight
Back view
Side view
Scratch near base
Closeup
Other side view
Base
$69 postage paid in the US. 

Click on the picture to see a larger image.

Click on the picture to see a larger image
Dramatic Marcolin (Sweden) Sfumato Technique Owl Figural Paperweight
2797 Portugal Stylized Floral Paperweight.  circa 1970.  Medium paperweight with stylized flowers.  This style is distinctive to Portugal.  The paperweight has four blue and yellow flowers arranged around an orange four petal flower in the center.  The design is placed over a fine frit ground.  Each flower has a carefully placed bubble in the center.  The glass has a slight yellow tint which may be a reflection from the frit ground.  A very colorful paperweight.

Medium size:  2 3/8" diameter by 2 7/16" high.  The base is polished flat.
Condition:  Very good condition.  There are some scratches on the base and a few tiny pinpricks or scratches on the dome.  The top is slightly uneven from when it was made.
Signature:  Unsigned, but I guarantee that this was made in Portugal.

For extra pictures, click on the picture at the right and the following links: 

Large picture
Side view
Profile
Another side view
Base
$29 postage paid in the US.

Click on the picture to see a larger image.

Click on the picture to see a larger image
Portugal Stylized Floral Paperweight
4511 Magnum Goebel Charlottenhütte Molded Bee Paperweight.  circa 1970s.  This very large molded paperweight has a three dimensional bee on the textured top.  It is disk shaped and is signed with an acid etched "Goebel" logo on the base and a silver foil label "Goebel Charlottenhütte Western Germany".  The glass has a very slight yellow cast but is mostly colorless and clear with a frosted bee on top.  An interesting addition to any collection of glass paperweights.

Note about color:  The glass has a very slight yellow cast but is mostly colorless and clear with a frosted bee on top.  The pictures exaggerate the yellow color.

Note about precedent
:  This paperweight reminds me of the Baccarat molded paperweights that appeared in their 1885 catalog.  Baccarat also included a molded bee. 

Goebel was founded in 1831 by William Goebel and his father Franz Detleff.  The first factory opened  in 1878 in Oeslau-Rödental (Bavaria).  The company sought recognition for its artistic accomplishments, high quality, and craftsmanship.  In 1935 Goebel was granted an exclusive agreement by Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel and the Convent of Siessen to create three dimensional porcelain figurines based on Hummel's drawings.  This product was immensely successful and led to the expansion of the company into other product lines, including glass.  The company prospered until the financial turmoils following events in 2001 and 2006 forced several reorganizations spanning until 2017.  Now under new ownership, the company has moved from Rödental to Bad Staffelstein.  The product line continues to be designed in Germany, but some production takes place elsewhere.  The Charlottenhütte Western Germany label is found on Goebel glass products made before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.  Charlottenhütte was an industrial area known for its steel industry prior to and during WWII.  After the war steel production was dismantled and other industries were allowed to develop.  Goebel Charlottenhütte also made copies of Swedish and Finnish molded glass patterns, including a very successful line of melting ice tree bark pattern tumblers.

Very large size:  3 5/8” diameter by 1 5/8” high.  The base is polished flat.
Condition:  Very good condition.  There are some scratches on the base.  No chips or cracks.  A few bubbles in the glass.  The label is worn.
Signature:  Signed with an acid etched "Goebel" logo on the base and a silver foil label "Goebel Charlottenhütte Western Germany".

For extra pictures, click on the picture at the right and the following links:

Large picture
Label
Goebel etched mark on base
Profile
Side view
Another side view
View from base
$45 postage paid in the US.

Click on the picture to see a larger image.

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Magnum Goebel Charlottenhütte Molded Bee Paperweight
5694 Magnum Orrefors Eva Englund Arne Lindblom Nypronos Floral Paperweight.  circa 1974 - 1989.  This Orrefors (Sweden) paperweight is surface decorated with a hand painted European red rose flower nyponros (or sweet briar).  The flower is depicted with a bud, stem, and leaves.  There is also a single bud with stem and leaves on the backside.  The paperweight is formed from clear crystal and appears to be hollow in the center.  It was designed by the Swedish glass artist Eva Englund and hand painted by Arne Lindblom.  It is signed by both artists with a green signature below the rose "EE" over "AL".  It also has an "Orrefors Sweden" label on the side.  It is a warm and comfortable design.

Orrefors Glassworks was founded in 1898 in Swedish village Orrefors in Småland on the same site where iron works operations had been run since 1726.  In the same year that the glassworks was founded, a hot shop was built for making technical, medical and household glass and stemware.  Glass now replaced the less profitable iron works operations.  In 1913, Consul Johan Ekman from Gothenburg became the new owner of Orrefors Glassworks.  He appointed Albert Ahlin as manager of the glassworks and this marked the start of a new era.  In 1914, Orrefors started manufacturing crystal products, and as well as cut crystal.  They also made art glass using the overlay technique with etched decoration. The new management quickly saw that artists were needed in the business, so Simon Gate was employed in 1916 and was joined by Edward Hald in 1917.  Gate and Hald experimented with with figure engraving and with the new innovative graal glass technique that was developed at Orrefors by the master glassblower Knut Bergqvist, resulting in major recognition at the Gothenburg Exhibition in 1923 and the Paris Exhibition in 1925.  In 1989, Orrefors and Kosta Boda merged to form Orrefors Kosta Boda AB.  Ownership changed again in 2005 with the purchase of the glassworks by the New Wave Group which decided to close the Orrefors glassworks in December 2012.  After that, all glass production was done under the KostaBoda brand label.

Eva Margareta Englund (1937 - 1998) was a designer and artist who worked in the Swedish glass industry from 1964-1990, after which she became an independent glass artist.  She studied ceramics before switching to glass after viewing a 1963 exhibition of the designer Ingeborg Lundin held at Orrefors glassworks.  In 1964 she was appointed as successor to Göran and Ann Wärff as artistic contributor to Pukeberg Glasbruk and in 1974 switched to Orrefors Glasbruk where she created drink ware as well as advanced artistic glassware. Her drink ware often includes decorative hand-painted floral and foliage designs, but the emphasis of her output lay in advanced Graal glass.

Arne Lindblom was a decorator working for Orrefors in the 1970s and 1980s, frequently decorating designs created by Eva Englund.  I have no additional information.

Very large size:  3 1/2" diameter by 2 1/2"high.  The base is polished with a concavity in the center.   
Condition:  Excellent condition.  Some scratches on the base.  Otherwise, no chips, cracks, or scratches found on inspection.
Signature:  Signed by both artists with a green signature below the rose "EE" over "AL".  It also has an "Orrefors Sweden" label on the side.

For extra pictures, click on the picture at the right and the following links:

Large picture
Closeup
Backside
Label
Signature
Base
Profile
$45 postage paid in the US.

Click on the picture to see a larger image.

Click on the picture to see a larger image
Magnum Orrefors Eva Englund Arne Lindblom Nypronos Floral Paperweight
5332 Dramatic Magnum FM Marcolin Art Crystal (Sweden) Sommerso Twist Paperweight.  circa 1983-1991.  This dramatic twist paperweight uses a Murano sommerso technique with a dark green iridescent core that sparkles and is covered by a transparent blue layer and then a clear crystal outer layer.  It is signed on the base "FM Ronneby Sweden M383" indicating that this is style 383 designed by Josef Marcolin when the company was in Ronneby Sweden.  The company name at the time was "FM Konstglas, Ronneby".  It also has a foil label "FM ART CRYSTAL STUDIO LINE GENUINE HANDMADE SWEDEN".  A fantastic example.

FM Marcolin Art Crystal or FM Marcolin Konstglas was founded Sweden in 1961 by two Italian brothers, Josef and Benito Marcolin.  They learned their glass making skills on the island of Murano, Venice, and later worked at Reijmyre before starting their own company.  FM stands for Färe-Marcolin.  The company went through several name changes as they moved from one location to another, including "FM Konstglas, Eneryda""FM Konstglas, Ronneby", and then "FM Konstglas / Marcolin".  "Konstglas" is Swedish for "Art Glass".  The company changed its name to FM Marcolin Art Crystal in 1983, and in 1988-89 changed again to Marcolin Art Crystal.  The Swedish factory closed in 1991, and production was moved to Sardinia, Italy.  The Marcolin brothers left and went their separate ways, Benito moved back to Sweden, while Josef moved to Austria and continued production under the name Marcolin Art Crystal, which is still operating today.

Marcolin pieces are often signed, including a pattern number, on the base, which consists of the initial of the designer, and model number of the item, sometimes followed by the size of the item in millimeters.  Designer codes include: M - Josef Marcolin, B - Benito Marcolin, and F - Inga-Lill Färe.  Production was mainly glass figurines, with a unique blended style of Swedish and Murano. They use traditional Murano techniques such as millefiori, sommerso, zanfirico, and sfumato. 

Very large size:  Just under 3 1/4" diameter by just over 4 1/2" high.  The base is polished flat.     
Condition:  Excellent condition.  No chips, cracks, or scratches found on inspection. 
Signature:  Signed on the base "FM Ronneby Sweden M383".  It also has a foil label "FM ART CRYSTAL STUDIO LINE GENUINE HANDMADE SWEDEN".  

For extra pictures, click on the picture at the right and the following links: 

Large picture
Back
Side view
Signature on base
Label
Top view
Base
SOLD.

Click on the picture to see a larger image.

Click on the picture to see a larger image
Dramatic Magnum FM Marcolin Art Crystal (Sweden) Sommerso Twist Paperweight
5513 Magnum Rosenthal Studio-Linie Swirl Paperweight.  circa 1971 or later.  This very large and wonderful Rosenthal swirl paperweight features a swirl of white glass over a clear crystal ground.  It is acid etch marked on the base with the name Rosenthal, the crown and crossed swords logo, and Studio-Linie underneath.  A dramatic addition to any collection of glass paperweights.

Rosenthal was founded in 1879 as a family business. Originally the focus was porcelain manufacture and porcelain painting.  In 1960, the Rosenthal Studiohaus was opened in Nuremberg and in 1965 the name was changed briefly to Rosenthal Glas & Porzellan AG and then in 1960 to Rosenthal AG in 1969.  From 1997 to 2008, the Rosenthal AG owned most of the British-Irish Waterford Wedgwood Group.  The Studio-Linie mark was used from 1971 to at least 1995.  Since the Rosenthal mark on this paperweight does not identify the country of origin (normally Germany), it is possible that the paperweight was made at Waterford, but I have no evidence one way or the other.

Very large size:  4 5/15” diameter by 2 15/16” high.  The base is polished flat.  It weighs just under three pounds (47.1 ounces).
Condition:  Very good condition.  One tiny bruise (less than 1/8" across) found on the side next to the base when taking pictures. Not noticed in earlier inspections.  No other chips, cracks or scratches. A few tiny bubbles in the glass.
Signature:  Signed with an acid etch mark on the base with the name Rosenthal, the crown and crossed swords logo, and Studio-Linie underneath.   

For extra pictures, click on the picture at the right and the following links:

Large picture
Side view
Profile
Rosenthal Studio-Linie mark on base
Closeup
Upside down
Tiny bruise (<1/8") on side near base
Base
View from back
$95 postage paid in the US.

Click on the picture to see a larger image.

Click on the picture to see a larger image
Magnum Rosenthal Studio-Linie Swirl Paperweight

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Revised 7/1/2023  EI9