Paperweight c. 1845 - 1860

This "Paperweight" was made by the Clichy Glasshouse in France, sometime between 1837 and 1885. These glassworks emerged during a period of significant industrial advancement, coinciding with evolving class structures and the rise of consumer culture in Europe. The paperweight encases a delicate, stylized flower. In this era, flowers were frequently used to communicate messages of love or remembrance, and were deeply entwined with societal expressions of sentimentality. Notice the flower's position and how it is held within the glass. The transparent encasement both protects and confines the bloom. What does it mean to capture something beautiful within an unyielding form? The Clichy Glasshouse produced paperweights like this for a growing middle class. It speaks to an emerging culture of collecting, of possessing beauty as a marker of taste and status. The act of owning and displaying such an object reflects the complex social dynamics of the time, where material culture became intertwined with identity and aspiration.