Another major grouping of paperweights in the Barker Collection incorporates millefiori
canes in the construction. Millefiori-decorated objects have been created intermittently
from the time of ancient Mesopotamia to the present day. Bowls of fused millefiori
canes are known to have been made in ancient Rome and Alexandria, and there are
a few references to examples of millefiori work during the Renaissance. By the
eighteenth century, however, the technical knowledge for the manufacture of millefiori
was lost. It was not until the nineteenth century that a revival of the technique
appeared. By the end of the 1830s, millefiori were manufactured successfully in
Silesia-Bohemia. Within two or three years of its rediscovery, factories in Venice,
England, and France were also producing quantities of millefiori canes.
Creating a patterned glass cane
Process of Manufacture
Cut from long, thin glass rods, millefiori canes were prepared in the following
manner: The glassworker took a gather of molten glass on a pontil, or long iron
rod, and rolled it back and forth on a marver, or flat surface, until it formed
a solid cylinder. The cylinder was then pressed into a die-cut mold that had
a geometric shape or the outline of a specific animal or figure. The piece was
further embellished by dipping on additional layers of varying colors of glass.
As each layer was added, it was rolled onto the ever-growing cylinder or pressed
into increasingly larger molds to vary the cane's ultimate design.
Three example glass rods
France, 1960s
The finished cylinder of glass, approximately six inches long
and three inches in diameter, was reheated until pliant. Pontil rods attached
to each end were pulled apart, stretching the yielding cylinder pencil-thin.
The stretched cooled cane was then sliced into hundreds of little discs, each
an exact miniaturization of the original design. For more complex designs, lengths
of the stretched canes were cut into six-inch pieces, bundled in a geometric
pattern, heated until fused together, stretched pencil-thin, and slices again.
In this manner, glassworkers were able to produce unlimited millefiori cane
designs from a limited selection of molds.
Making a paperweight containing millefiori canes.
Once a quantity of millefiori canes was produced, they were combined
into a variety of patterns limited only by the ingenuity of the artisan. To
create a paperweight, a design of canes was arranged in a metal ring, and a
gather of molten glass on the end of a pontil rod was brought down upon the
design. The canes adhered to the molten glass. The rod was repeatedly dipped
in glass until an adequately thick lens was produced over the millefiori design.
While still plastic, the glass was blocked and shaped. Slightly cooled to a
stable state, it was broken off the pontil rod and placed in an annealing oven
to cool slowly.
Types of millefiori canes
Cane types
There are specific kinds of canes formed by the glassmakers. They include, in
addition to the myriad types of flower-like patterns, the simplest rod canes,
star canes, cog canes (shaped liked the cogs of a gear wheel), Clichy Rose cane,
and silhouette canes, which contain
a figure of an animal, person, or plant, a date or maker's mark.
Millefiori patterns in paperweights
Millefiori weights are categorized into types and named according to the configuration
of the canes.
Scrambled Millefiori
Clichy, circa 1845-55
Scrambled millefiori
weights feature what looks like a stirred mixture of different canes.
Miniature Single Cane Millefiori
Saint Louis, circa 1845-55
Single cane millefiori
weights contain just one center patterned canes on a textured background.
Close Millefiori
Baccarat, dated 1849
Close millefiori
weights contain a small forest of canes thrusting up from the base side by
side with little space between them.
Clichy, circa 1845-55
Chequers millefiori weights
get their name from the filigree twists that act as separators among the space
canes.
Close Concentric Millefiori
Union Glass Works
circa 1845-55
Concentric millefiori
weights may be closely positioned or spaced in rings around a center cane.
Pink and White Pattern Millefiori
Clichy, circa 1845-55
Pattern millefiori
weights feature canes that are arranged in patterns such as lines, flower-like
forms, or symmetrical rings.
Garland Millefiori on Red
Clichy, circa 1845-55
Garland millefiori
weights contain canes arranged in loops, lobes, C-scrolls, or circlets.
Moss Carpet Ground Millefiori
Clichy, circa 1845-55
Carpet ground millefiori
weights look like a carpet of small identical ( often star or rod) canes interspersed
with larger spaced millefiori canes.
Magnum Millefiori Mushroom
Baccarat, circa 1845-55
Mushroom millefiori
weights are those containing a central upright mushroom-shaped cluster of
millefiori canes in a clear body, with or without overlays and printies.
Turquoise Overlay Mushroom Millefiori
Clichy, circa 1845-55
Overlays consist of a coating
of colored opaque or translucent glass on the surface of a (Usually millefiori)
weight, through which are cut windows called printies.
Creating a patterned glass cane
