Paperweight c. 1848 - 1855

This is a glass paperweight with floral designs, made by Baccarat Glassworks. Consider the cultural and historical contexts in which Baccarat Glassworks operated; their pieces often catered to the elite, reflecting the opulence of the era. With a delicate floral arrangement suspended in glass, this paperweight embodies a desire to capture and preserve beauty. The flowers encased here evoke notions of idealized femininity and domesticity. This piece encourages us to think about the act of preserving certain ideals, while perhaps obscuring others. The weight's clear encasement, while magnifying its beauty, also immobilizes the flowers. There is something to be said about this tension between admiration and control. The Baccarat paperweight serves not just as a functional object, but as a looking glass into our complex relationship with beauty, power, and preservation.