Paperweight c. 1845 - 1860

This paperweight was made at the Baccarat Glassworks using lampworking and casting techniques. Unlike traditional sculptural materials such as stone or bronze, glass offers a unique set of possibilities due to its molten state, and the ways it plays with light. In this piece, we see a snake coiled within a clear glass dome, surrounded by a bed of green and grey fragments. The snake itself is meticulously crafted, its form achieved by manipulating molten glass with tools and breath. Lampworking of this kind requires intense focus and precision, the glassblower building the sculpture bit by bit. Consider the cultural significance of glass. Once a luxury, it became more commonplace through industrial production. This paperweight, though decorative, represents a fascinating intersection of craft, design, and industry, where the inherent qualities of glass are harnessed to create an object of beauty and function, blurring the lines between art and commodity.