Antique Paperweight Sulfide Crystal Baccarat Queen Elizabeth II Philip dated 1953
The artist's signature, G. Poillerat, is on the bottom portion of the Queen's profile. The bottom ridge side is acid etched BACCARAT 1953.
This is a lovely, expertly crafted royal
Paperweight in Baccarat* crystal, with crystallo-ceramic** decoration of the profile portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, dated 1953, without original box, from the 20th century.
This paperweight is in very good condition. Signed and dated on the side. Scratches on the bottom.
A note: this piece does not come in a box, it has been used and has scratches on the bottom from use- please see pictures.
*The Baccarat crystal factory is located in the municipality of Baccarat in the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, in Lorraine in France. In 1764 King Louis XV gave permission to found a glass factory in the town of Baccarat in Lorraine to the Bishop of Metz Louis-Joseph de Montmorency-Laval (1761-1802). The vast enclosure of the Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat almost merged with the small town of Baccarat.
The production consisted of the manufacture of panes, mirrors and glass services. After the French Revolution, the company declined until its bankruptcy in 1806, when it was sold at auction to a Verdun merchant. In 1816, the Verrerie was bought by an industrialist, Aime-Gabriel d'Artigues (1773-1848). This was the beginning of the prestigious rise of the Cristalleries de Baccarat.
The real start of the company dates from its acquisition in 1822 by a wealthy Parisian, Pierre-Antoine Godard-Desmarest. Baccarat received its first royal commission in 1823 from King Louis XVIII. This was the beginning of a long series of commissions for royal families and heads of state all over the planet. It was also a period of strong international growth.
In 1855 Baccarat won its first gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. From 1860 Baccarat registered its trademark on its pieces. The brand was a label stuck on the pieces. The production of crystal took off during this period, and Baccarat built a worldwide reputation by manufacturing very high quality glasses, candlesticks, vases and perfume bottles.
** Crystal ceramics is a glass decoration technique that was created towards the end of the 19th century. It consists in including in a crystal object a ceramic cameo which has been molded beforehand and then finely chiseled by hand. (See ProAntic)
Diameter : 6.8cm
Dimensions : box 10.6 cm x 10.7 cm / 5.5 cm
Height : 4cm approx.