Simon Dear

A Georgian airtwist wine glass c1740 whose stem incorporates a pair of long bubbles of trapped air that corkscrew around each other. Sometimes referred to as a “mercury twist”. Happy start to 2026!

18th century Georgian posset “pot” - a fragile and rare survivor

Rarely, old German glass marbles have “sulphide” inclusions. A popular theme are animals, made of a white substance (plaster of Paris?) and encased in clear glass. Here is a little zoo - a camel, bear, dog, sheep, goat, bird, and fish. The largest measures 2.5 inches diameter.

Pantin only made paperweights between 1878 and 1880. The number of known Pantin paperweights is very small - in the low 100s, so they’re very rare

A Bacarrat goblet c1850 with latticinio applied to the rim of bowl and foot, and similar stem, along with a beaker with similar rim. The goblet is finely engraved with sprays of flowers.

A Bohemian finely engraved glass beaker with scene of Teplitz (Teplice) (in today's Czechia)
c1820. The top half of the bowl has a panoramic view of the town with a horse and cart in the foreground. The workmanship and detail on this glass is exceptional.

A Whitefriars ‘sunspot’ sun-catcher designed by Geoffrey Baxter 1969. It measures nearly 8” diameter. A classic iconic design.

A German solid core glass marble dating from c1900. Diameter 1 3/8 inches. These were formed from a glass rod containing the design, the same diameter as the marble.

Happiness is being in the queue for an early morning antiques market!

An article on perfume bottles of the Birdermeier period (in the latest Glass Matters journal) describes a vessel of strikingly similar construction, attributed to the Schaffgotsch Glassworks. Or perhaps Josephinenhütte.

Another latticinio scent bottle or vase. This one is surprisingly heavy in the hand, being encased in a thicker clear glass, possibly lead Crystal

An encased latticinio scent bottle, possibly by the French factories Clichy or Saint Louis, dating from c1840. The threats are backed with white glass and encased in thick clear glass which has then been pillar faceted. The precision with which this is made is incredible.

Trump once promised to “drain the swamp”. Looks like he’s right in it.

Found in a retro shop in Wales for £10, this striking Paul Ysart paperweight is more than affordable!

I came across another Radi calcedonio vase while visiting Greenway National Trust, Torbay, Devon - former holiday residence of writer Agatha Christie. It was in a cabinet in the Winter Dining Room along with other glass and ceramic items, rare and everyday, spanning 18thC to 20thC.

“Dump” paperweights were reputedly made from bottle glass left over at the end of the working day. The more common varieties include trapped bubbles and flowers made of foil or frit. Here we see the bowl of an old clay pipe encased in glass. Dates from 1920s, prior to automation of glass factories.

A 1930s Paul Ysart paperweight with loosely arranged millefiori canes on a light blue jasper ground. In recent years these handsome pieces, usually generously sized with a tasteful colour palette, have become very affordable.

The vase was made in Murano, Italy. Height 10.5cm. Calcedonio was later produced by Salviati & Co whose pieces tended to be larger, more ornate, and more refined having a deeper gloss and polished pontils. Radi was primarily concerned in re-creating and demonstrating the old techniques.

A small Calcedonio vase made by Lorenzo Radi c1850-1860. Radi rediscovered the Renaissance glass technique of recreating the effect of Chalcedony agate by applying metal oxides to the outside of the glass.

An ‘in the wild’ shot of a stunning Salviati red vase hand-decorated in gilt neoclassical scenes and enamels, c1900.

Back in 2000, fuel protests at oil refineries brought the country to a standstill, with reports of less than 48 hours fuel left in the country. Hugely vulnerable!

I stop by this dovecote and have my lunch fairly often. A special spot!

Glass marbles, ostensibly children’s toys, gleam like little jewels on this mahogany solitaire boards. Such marbles were handmade, and produced in Germany from 1850 to 1920s. Today they are highly collectible.

A Russian glass goblet engraved with sunflowers, probably made at the Imperial Glassworks and engraved in St Petersburg during the reign of tsarina Catherine the Great (1762-1796). Most contemporary glasses are engraved with royal cyphers or symbols.

A glass letter seal, possibly Josephineenhutte from c1850, giving the impression of a sitting stag.

A Clichy barber-pole paperweight has complex millefiori caned spaced with colour twists set above a ground of ‘tossed muslin’. Dates from 1845-50.

The leaves do look a bit like currants leaves

A Pietro Bigaglia filigree flask c1840-50, with applied aventurine rim and vermicular collar. The foot is formed from the same glass as the body.

It never surprises what turns up at antique fairs. Take this Pantin small lampwork fruit weight c1850. Not sure what fruit these are - currants?

A glass paperweight by Pietro Bigaglia, Venice, c1840-50. The low dome is filled with latticinio, colour twists, and discrete blobs of aventurine.