Baccarat 1975 Gridel Series Millefiori Black Monkey Limited Edition Paperweight

  
Baccarat 1975 Gridel Series Millefiori Black Monkey Limited Edition Paperweight. This modern millefiori paperweight features a large central black monkey silhouette on a white background surrounded by two concentric rings of picture canes (seventeen Gridel canes plus a signature / date cane).

The design is placed over a green carpet ground. The paperweight is signed in the design with Baccarat's complex signature cane "B 1975". It also has an acid etched Baccarat mark on the base along with the year (1975) and edition number (262).

This is the most popular of the Gridel series paperweight. This design was released in 1975 in a limited edition of 350 pieces. This is number 262 in that series. There is a signature cane "B 1975" shown in the pictures. The bottom has the acid etched Baccarat logo plus it is engraved with the year (1975) and the number (262). 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. Large Size: 3 1/8" diameter by just under 2 1/4" high. The base is polished flat with an indent for the edition number. Signature: The paperweight is signed with Baccarat's complex signature cane "B 1975" in the design. It also has an acid etched Baccarat mark on the base along with the the year (1975) and edition number (262). There are some light scratches on the base, but no other chips, cracks, or scratches were found on inspection. In 1846 Baccarat introduced the popular Gridel figures in their closepack millefiori paperweights.

It was named after Emil Gridel, the nephew of Jean-Baptiste Toussaint the general manager of Baccarat. Toussaint saw Gridel making paper cutouts of animals and saw an opportunity to incorporate these silhouettes in millefiori paperweights. From 1971 to 1979 Baccarat issued a modern Gridel series of millefiori paperweights based on eighteen Gridel figures. Each paperweight has a large Gridel figure in the center with smaller versions of the other figures included in the design.

There are variations in orientation and color as well as the types of canes in each design and it is possible to amass a very large collection covering just this series. 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. Most collectors refer to three periods of Baccarat paperweight production. This classification is definitely an over simplification. Baccarat continued to make paperweights after the classic period, but little is known about the extent of the product line or who made the paperweights. What is known is that by 1910, the offering in the catalog had dwindled to pansy paperweights, simple open concentric paperweights, and rock paperweights.

Dupont, who supposedly was the last worker at Baccarat to know the secrets of paperweight making. No collector or scholar ever met Mr. Dupont although at least one visited the Baccarat factory and asked to meet with him.

The weights stopped appearing in the shop in 1934. 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 the 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. Allan's Paperweights is owned by Allan Port. If in doubt, please check with me first. Please do not ask me to declare this a gift.

This item is in the category "Collectibles\Decorative Collectibles\Paperweights". The seller is "paperweights" and is located in this country: US.

This item can be shipped to United States, Germany, Japan, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Australia.

1. Style: Gridel Series Black Monkey Paperweight
2. Material: Glass
3. Features: Signed, Dated, Limited Edition, Sequence Number
4. Glassmaking Technique: Millefiori paperweight
5. Handmade: Yes
6. Type of Glass: Paperweight
7. Country/Region of Manufacture: France
8. Subject/Theme: Black Monkey Paperweight
9. Color: Green
10. Year or Period Made: 1975
11. Brand: Baccarat