Paperweight

The history of glass paperweights can be traced back to the Austrian Industry Exhibition held in Vienna in 1845, where the Venetian Pietro Bigaglia (1786-1878), who represented Murano, known since the Middle Ages as the most important centre of the glass industry in Europe, showcased his selections. On that occasion, he presented spherical paperweights with embedded pieces of coloured glass, which delighted visitors. This type of product was already being produced at the turn of the 16th century, but it was not until the 19th century that it became an extremely popular trinket, experiencing its renaissance again in the mid-20th century. First used for pressing loose sheets of paper, over time, some of these ornamental articles began to attract more and more interest from collectors for their often high standard of workmanship. Although the featured cast glass paperweight lacks the sophistication and craftsmanship of Bigaglia's products, it is a rather rare exhibit, which also evokes the history of pre-war Szczecin. A photograph found on the underside of the paperweight, which depicts a section of the city's architecture in the area of the Hanseatic Bridge (now Most Długi) over the West Oder, linking Łasztownia with bul. staromiejski, suggests that it was manufactured for the tourist industry. Anna Lew-Machniak