Paperweights From Other Countries
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
| 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. 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. For extra pictures, click on the picture at the right and the following links: Large picture of the paperweight$69 postage paid in the US. Click on the picture to see a larger image. |
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on the picture to see a larger image |
| 5418 | Rare Kosta Wärff Jewel 8 Abstract Footed
Paperweight. Circa 1960s. This is very nice Swedish
Art Glass Paperweight designed by famous glass artist Göran
Wärff for Kosta Boda. It features a blue and amber
marbrie type design on a clear disk of crystal with a "knob" on
top. Titled "Jewel 8", this version has a 1 1/2" diameter
foot under the marbrie disk. "Jewel" is a series of glass
objects of different sizes and shapes all with the same blue
marbrie design. The series includes paperweights and
vases. It is signed on the base "Kosta Wärff Jewel 8".
A fascinating design.
Note: This was a difficult paperweight to photograph. It is very striking and bold. Kosta is one of the oldest glass companies in the world, founded in 1742. Today, the company remains in operation having merged with glassworks in Boda and Åfors. The company name is now Orrefors Kosta Boda AB. Göran and Ann Wärff studied industrial design at a Bauhaus influenced school in Ulm Germany. They worked at the Pukeberg glassworks in Sweden and then in 1964 they joined Kosta Boda. In 1968, Ann and Göran Wärff shared in the Lunning Prize. Their work was a joint venture, and was occasionally signed Görann. They separated in 1972. She then adopted the name Ann Wolff. After 10 years of helping define a style with his innovative designs and processes at Kosta Boda, Göran took leave for Australia, then England, where he worked and taught. He returned to Kosta Boda in 1984. Medium size: Just over 2 1/2" diameter by 2 5/16"
high. The base is ground flat. For extra pictures, click on the picture at the right and the following links: Large picture$95 postage paid in the US. Click on the picture to see a larger image. |
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| 3062 | Kosta Boda Bertil Vallien Galaxy Blue
Artist Collection Abstract Paperweight. circa 1981 or
later. This is dramatic Swedish art glass paperweight was
designed in 1981 by the famous Swedish designer Bertil Vallien for
the Kosta Boda glassworks at Boda, Sweden. The surface
decorated paperweight has a series blue threads and two large blue
dots on an almost opaque textured light blue surface. There
also smaller blue spatters on the surface. At first glance,
it could be mistaken for a piece of pottery with a heavy
glaze. The underlying ground is clear glass. It is an
example of Bertil Vallien’s popular Galaxy Blue Series of glass
objects, each of which share similar visual effect. The
paperweight is signed on the base "BODA ARTIST COL BVALLIEN
98113". There is also the remnant of the original silver
Boda Artist Collection label, but the printed text has washed
off. An visually exciting paperweight designed by the most
famous of the Kosta Boda designers. Note: In 1976 Bertil Vallien started his "Artist collection" at Åfors glassworks. This collection consisted of art glass in large editions where each glass blower was allowed considerable freedom in executing the design. There was a definite basic form, but it was the craftsman's skill and feeling that completed the work. This was in contrast to the Bertil Vallien "Atelje" (Studio) series where each object was made in a limited edition and under the artist's supervision and were signed and numbered. The Galaxy Blue Artist Collection series was designed by Vallien in 1981 for the Boda Glassworks. I believe there are fifteen different objects in the series. The series includes paperweights, vases, bowls, an oil lamp, and a wine glass. Kosta is one of the oldest glass companies in the world. Kosta Glasbruk was founded in 1742 in Smaland, Sweden by Anders Koskull and Georg B. Stael von Holstein. In 1976 the glassworks of Kosta, Boda and Åfors merged to form Kosta Boda AB. In 1989, Kosta Boda and Orrefors merged to form Orrefors Kosta Boda AB. Ownership changed 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. Bertil Vallien (1938-) initially studied Ceramics, first at the art school Konstfack in Stockholm and then at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA). While in the US he also worked as a designer at a ceramics factory. After returning to Sweden in 1963, he began to focus on glass while continuing his work in ceramics, and developed an innovative sand-casting technique. He was hired as a designer for the glassworks at Åfors and given the freedom to also work on his own designs part of the time. The merger of Kosta, Boda and Åfors in 1976 made it possible to devote more capacity to Vallien's designs. In 1963, he married Ulrica Margaret Hydman Vallien (1938-2018) a Swedish artist and fellow Konstfack student who started as a ceramist and then expanded her expertise to glass. Large Size: 3 3/16" diameter by 2 1/8"
high. The base is ground flat. For extra pictures, click on the picture at the right and the following links: Large picture$95 postage paid in the US. Click on the picture to see a larger image. |
Click on the picture
to see a larger image |
| 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. For extra pictures, click on the picture at the right and the following links: Large picture$45 postage paid in the US. Click on the picture to see a larger image. |
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on the picture to see a larger image |
| 5631 | Large Waterford Crystal Clear Desk Cube
Paperweight. circa 1980. This is an impressive
Waterford Crystal "cube" with one pattern on the sides and a
different pattern on the top and another pattern on the
base. The dimensions are not truly a cube - it is 2 3/4" x 2
3/4" by 2 11/16", so not quite as high as it is wide. Heavy
crystal - it weighs just over 33 ounces. It has a Waterford
etched signature on the edge of the base. The Waterford Glass House was founded in 1783 by George and William Penrose. The company is best known for its fine crystal products made in Waterford, Ireland. The original company closed in 1851 because of finances. It was reborn in 1947 with factories Dungarvan and Kilbarry (Ireland) and recruited glassworkers from Czechoslovakia and other parts of Europe. From 1997 to 2008, the Rosenthal AG owned most of the British-Irish Waterford Wedgwood Group. The financial crisis of 2008 resulted in further changes in ownership. In 2015, Fiskars Corporation, a global supplier of consumer products for the home, garden and outdoors, acquired the WWRD group of companies including Waterford, Wedgwood, Royal Doulton, Royal Albert and Rogaška. Large Size: 2 3/4" wide by 2 3/4" deep by 2 11/16"
high. The and top have different patterns from the one on
the sides. It weighs just over 33 ounces. For extra pictures, click on the picture at the right and the following links: Large pictureSOLD. Click on the picture to see a larger image. |
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on the picture to see a larger image |
| 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). For extra pictures, click on the picture at the right and the following links: Large picture$95 postage paid in the US. Click on the picture to see a larger image. |
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on the picture to see a larger image
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Revised 6/16/2022 EI9
