Original Listing Description

Baccarat 1971 Millefiori Mushroom Turquoise Double Overlay Paperweight Baccarat 1971 Millefiori Mushroom Turquoise Double Overlay Paperweight. dated 1971. This modern millefiori paperweight features a wonderful six row concentric millefiori design with design pulled down to the base to form a slender stem, completing the mushroom form. The outer ring alternates between blue and yellow canes to create an interesting pattern when viewed from the base. The design is placed over clear crystal and finished with a turquoise and white double overlay. It is signed with a Baccarat complex "B1971" signature / date cane in the fourth ring from the center. This paperweight is also signed twice on the base with an acid etched Baccarat mark along with the engraved year (1971) and edition number (153). The overlay is faceted with one large top facet and five side facets. A fantastic paperweight Please Note: The stand shown in the pictures is not included with the paperweight. It is shown for illustration only.Note on white glare: Please ignore the white areas, they are glare from the light.Note for International buyers: If the final price is $400 or more, this paperweight must be shipped by USPS priority mail. If you are outside the US and wish to buy this paperweight, please contact me first with your address and I will check the availability and cost of postage.A mushroom paperweight is one that contains an upright, mushroom shaped tuft of millefiori canes. Below the tuft at the top, the canes are pulled down to form a stem. Typically the top is either a closepacked design or a close concentric design. Sometimes, especially with antique paperweights, a torsade is added surrounding the stem of the mushroom. Millefiori mushroom paperweights like this are among the most difficult paperweights to make. Add the double overlay and you have an extremely challenging and desirable paperweight Note on limited editions: After extensive research in the Baccarat archives, Paul Dunlop concluded that popular designs like this were numbered editions, but not limited editions. Baccarat made them in more than one year as sales demanded and numbered the production sequentially. I am not entirely in agreement, but I am content to adopt Dunlop's terminology and refer to this as a numbered 1971 edition. I believe Baccarat intended to limit production of challenging designs like this double overlay mushroom. The records, if any, remain to be found.Baccarat was founded in 1776 in Alsace-Lorraine with the name of Verrerie de Sainte Anne. The original location was near the town of Baccarat. Today the firm is known as Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat. In 1952, Paul Jokelson approached Baccarat with the idea of making sulphide paperweights again. In 1953 Baccarat resumed paperweight production with a series of sulphide paperweights the first of which were the unsuccessful Eisenhower sulphide followed by the Queen Elizabeth coronation sulphide. Millefiori paperweight production was resumed in 1957 and lampwork paperweights were re-introduced in the early 1970s. Baccarat stopped making this type of fine glass paperweights in 2002. You can read more about the Baccarat paperweights in his book Baccarat Paperweights - two centuries of beauty by Paul Dunlop or one of the older books on paperweights in general, such as The Encyclopedia of Glass Paperweights by Paul Hollister or World Paperweights by Robert Hall.Large size: 2 15/16" diameter by just over 2" high. The base is polished flat. The paperweight is faceted with one large top facet and a five side facets Signature: Signed with a complex "B 1971" signature / date cane in the fourth ring from the center. This paperweight is also signed twice on the base with an acid etched Baccarat mark along with the engraved year (1971) and edition number (153) Condition: Excellent condition with no chips, cracks, or scratches found on inspection. Allan's Paperweights is owned by Allan Port. If you have any questions, please click the "paperweights" link under seller information and then contact seller. Please check out my other eBay auctions or visit my eBay Store. Free shipping in the US. If you are outside the US, please review the cost of postage. If in doubt, please check with me first. I ship to most countries. If you are blocked from bidding, please contact me and I will add your eBay user name to the allowed bidders list. If you would like a different shipping option, please contact me before paying the invoice. Full value will be declared for customs purposes. Please do not ask me to declare this a gift. The buyer is responsible for any customs fees, VAT fees, or handling charges imposed by your country's customs services. (Condition: Pre-Owned)

Note: This item has been sold and is no longer available. This page serves as a historical price reference for Baccarat collectors and appraisers.