American Eagle Sulphide Paperweight
French, mid–19th century
Diameter: 2¾ inches
 
A finely made French sulphide paperweight centered with a sculptural white cameo of the American eagle, depicted with spread wings and a shield upon its breast, emblematic of the national arms of the United States. The eagle rests upon a foliate base, the detailed relief suspended within a clear glass dome, creating the striking cameo effect characteristic of nineteenth-century sulphide weights.
 
Paperweights of this type were produced by the leading French glasshouses, including Baccarat and Saint-Louis, during the mid-nineteenth century. The molded cameo, formed from a ceramic compound, was inserted into the gather of molten glass and permanently encased within the finished weight. Patriotic American emblems such as the national eagle were occasionally produced for the export market and remain among the more visually distinctive subjects encountered in sulphide weights.
 
Condition: Very fine, with a few tiny nicks to the sides.