Paperweight c. 1845 - 1860

Curator: Before us sits a "Paperweight" created sometime between 1845 and 1860 by the Clichy Glasshouse. It resides here at the Art Institute of Chicago. Editor: Its spherical form, encased in translucent glass, contains a garden of minuscule, kaleidoscopic flowers. It evokes a Victorian sensibility, simultaneously precise and ornate. Curator: The millefiori technique displayed here – creating intricate patterns from glass rods – speaks to both the artistic and technical capabilities of 19th-century glassmakers. But these were also luxury goods, adorning the desks of the affluent. Editor: Indeed. Paperweights, more than functional objects, reflect bourgeois aspirations for elegance and refined taste, particularly during a period of rapid industrialization. But it's the color usage here, from delicate pastels to vibrant central blues that capture one's attention. Curator: The structure reminds me a bit of the period botanical drawings meant to inventory the natural world, categorized in a symmetrical format—very positivistic, in that way, bringing order and, perhaps, suggesting control. Editor: Do you see it also playing into this new culture of collecting objects, bringing exotic specimens into a personal sphere of knowledge? We might call it “objectified science.” Curator: The containment you speak of is intrinsic to this piece—encased in its glassy dome, this micro-cosmos also symbolizes the home, protected but viewed on display. Editor: I am seeing that sense of “objectified science” as well. Looking closer at the micro-level flower arrangements, it recalls scientific diagrams of flora, neatly categorized but now purely decorative and frozen. Curator: Frozen beauty indeed, encapsulating nature in a highly refined artifice. A moment captured, and infinitely preserved. Editor: Precisely! We have both this individual's control over a "still life," with nature as a passive observer.