Paperweight

Paperweight – a gadget so ingenious in its simplicity. It helps you organize individual sheets of paper and prevents them from throwing. It could be made of any material, from wood to glass or metal to stone. There was only one condition: he had to effectively press the sheets of paper and at the same time does not leave any trace on them. It was often a souvenir brought back from a trip or associated with the memory of a person or an important event. Is it fair to say that a paperweight is a trinket? Yes, it is a very useful trinket of any shape except for its utility function, decorating the room. The paperweight makers were only limited by their imagination. The paperweight could take the form of an exquisitely carved human or animal figure, a glass ball, a cast in metals, or it could be just an ordinary stone.

 The paperweight, which is in our collection is a seemingly ordinary small stone placed on an oval brass base. What did it do to deserve such a unique setting? What is the inscription after which there are only three brass letters and a few holes indicating that there were more letters? In the Inventory Books we read: S 3406 MŁ - Paperweight – stone with the inscription Via Appia... Are you certain? Confirmation can be obtained by turning the button and looking at the bottom of the brass base, where we will read: Roman Potocki collected this stone in Rome. The inscription is not very clear, but it confirms that the stone was found at the Via Appia and additionally informs that it was brought to Łańcut by the Third Ordynat. So, we are looking at a unique souvenir brought by an equally exceptional person.

Anna Szczęsny