Paperweight c. 19th century

This paperweight, made from glass by the Saint Louis Glass Works, presents a fascinating intersection of decorative art and social history. During the nineteenth century, such objects were emblems of bourgeois domesticity, adorning desks and parlors. Embedded within its crystal form is a celebration of nature, but it’s a nature carefully curated and controlled. The floral motif speaks to the Victorian era's fascination with botany as a science and a pastime. The glassmaking itself, hints at the industrialization that was rapidly transforming European society. Consider this paperweight as a symbol of its time, a moment when industry and nature, science and aesthetics, class and domesticity were all held in delicate balance, much like the fragile beauty it encapsulates.