paperweight

Object NamePaperweight

Artist Paul Stankard (American, b. 1943)

Made FromNon-lead glass

Date1987

Place MadeUnited States, NJ, Mantua

TechniqueLampworked, cut, polished, laminated

SizeOverall H: 19 cm, W: 8.4 cm, Diam (max): 7 cm

Accession Number87.4.50

Credit LineGift of The Honorable and Mrs. Amory Houghton, by exchange

Curatorial Area(s)

Postwar and Contemporary

Exhibitions

Masterpieces of American Glass

On ViewBen W. Heineman Sr. Family Gallery of Contemporary Glass.

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

Paul Stankard is one of the world’s greatest paperweight makers and lampworkers. In his studio, he strives to reproduce accurately the delicate flora he studies and photographs during walks in the woods near his home. His “Botanical” series displays the entire plant, with soil and roots, three-dimensionally. Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora), also known as corpse plant or convulsion root, grows in moist woodlands in warm and temperate areas of North America, in Japan, and in the Himalayas. The artist’s fanciful root system includes “spirit people” - a whimsical touch to an unusual chlorophyll-less, saprophytic plant. The detailed forms embedded in the glass are produced with extremely fine flameworking.

Physical DescriptionColorless, transparent dark green, white, tan non-lead glasses; lampworked, cut, polished, laminated. Tall, solid object, square cross section, with rounded, rectangular faces; transparent green glass laminated on three sides; cut horizontal groove near the base; laminated green base; enclosing a lampworked depiction of an Indian Pipe plant, with five stems, emerging from a domed "ground"; the "root system" with figures of two people and thru flowers; below that, two more people, lying on domed ground; inscribed on the back (script, vibrator tool) "Paul J. Stankard C51 1987"; flat bottom with slight depression.
Provenance

Source Leo Kaplan (d. 2013) - 1987-09-08

Source Laura Houghton - 1987-09-08

Source Honorable Amory Houghton Jr. (American, 1926-2020) - 1987-09-08