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intial bids:
October 13, 2000

Click on the image to enlarge Lot 2 Rare Russian Floral Plaque, previously attributed to the artists at the American glass facility, Mount Washington. This important piece represents one of eleven known plaques now believed to have been created in Russia during the 1800s. These glass designs, which contain more flowers than any other known antique lampwork paperweight, represent a marvel of ingenuity and technique. Very few antique bouquets display lampwork flowers in relief, and this piece is a unique record of this challenging skill. "Russian origin is highly probable for the paperweights... (which have) lampworked flowers with a center including pistils."-Annual Bulletin of the Paperweight Collectors Association, Inc. (1995) "The Maltsov Dynasty of Russia" by Sibylle Jargstorf. A few have been found with Russian inscriptions or names engraved into the surface, though that is likely an afterthought. Little is known as to the factory or glass artists that produced these extraordinary works. Dwight Lanmon, former Director of the Winterthur Museum and The Corning Museum of Glass, found fragments of paperweights containing the same style of glasswork in the archives of the Imperial Glass Factory and the Hermitage located in St. Petersburg. This Floral Plaque is rectangular; the bouquet consisting of 7 blossoms and 12 fully realized leaves. Made at-the-lamp of white glass, with color overlays, set on a cushion of colorless glass, the stalks tied with a cobalt blue twist. Each bloom exhibits naturalistic, individuated detail. "It will presumably be some time before a comprehensive survey of Russian lampwork is available. Nevertheless, these paperweights rank among the most beautiful and most sophisticated in the genre."-Wiener Kunst Auktionen (The Vienna Art Auctions), Paperweights-Collection Friedrich Bader, Dec. 1, 1999, Expert: Michael Kovecek. The flowers appear to be clematis, which in botanical language, are said to invoke "mental beauty." Yet, the petals are so voluminous they may even be interpreted as dahlias, which traditionally signify "instability" or "good taste." The floral choice seems apt. Intellectual, unstable, but with unerring aesthetics, this rare Floral Plaque reflects the tumultuous history of a briefly blossoming art form in Russia (See Annual Bulletin of the Paperweight Collectors Association, Inc. {1992} "Russia-Paradise of the Paperweight?" by Ralph Wagner and Ralph Goehr). Faceted edges. Small annealing split on upper right and upper left flowers. Dimensions 3" by 5" by 1". Estimate: $60,000 - 80,000. Check out the Press Release for this auction at http://selman.com/press/