1950s Baccarat Sulphide Paperweight Thomas Jefferson 1953 — Deep Red Ground, Only 194 Made, Signed

Details

Description

Baccarat crystal sulphide paperweight, France, circa 1953-54.

A white ceramic sulphide cameo portrait of Thomas Jefferson in profile is encased … Read more Baccarat crystal sulphide paperweight, France, circa 1953-54.

A white ceramic sulphide cameo portrait of Thomas Jefferson in profile is encased in faceted crystal over a deep red translucent ground. The cameo is inscribed "G.P. 1953", and the base edge carries the acid-etched "BACCARAT" mark.

This weight belongs to Baccarat's early-1950s sulphide revival. In the sulphide technique, a ceramic medallion, in the manner of pate de verre, is encased in crystal, so the white portrait appears suspended within the faceted dome.

Paul Dunlop's Dictionary of Glass Paperweights records this Jefferson sulphide on the deep red ground as an edition of only 194 weights, 2 11/16 inches diameter. This is an early-1950s Baccarat sulphide, not one of the later common Franklin Mint issues.

Dimensions: 2.75 inches diameter x 1.5 inches high.

Condition: Used vintage paperweight in good overall condition, presenting well with clear faceting and portrait detail. Please review all photos for condition. No box or papers are included.

Shipping: Buyer-paid calculated shipping. Packed size 6 x 6 x 6 inches, 2 lb.

Inside the crystal is a sulphide — a cameo of porcelain-like ceramic paste, cast from an engraved mold and encased in molten glass while hot, so the portrait floats inside the weight, sealed away forever. The technique was patented in England in 1819 as 'crystallo ceramie' and brought to perfection by the great French houses, Baccarat among them, whose portrait sulphides of statesmen and kings were prestige objects. Jefferson is a fitting subject for a French maker: before he was the third president he was America's minister to France, lived in Paris five years, and came home with a lifelong love of French wine, architecture, and design. The cameo itself is signed 'G.P.' and dated 1953, and Baccarat made this portrait in a small edition of just 194 weights. See less