Saturday, March 12, 2011

Object of the Day: A Floral Paperweight by Ed Rithner

Master glass-maker Ed Rithner lived and worked in West Virginia from 1908-1970. His paperweights are coveted collectors’ items and though often always unsigned, they are easily identifiable from his trademark style and brilliant use of color.


This floral paperweight by Ed Rithner is indicative of his late 1940’s style. As is typical of Rithner’s work, the weight features small, intentional bubbles around the central design and the bottom of the weight is frosted with clear marks left behind by the pontil.

An eight petal blue flower surrounds a central bubble and rises above a mottled jewel-tone ground of fine powdered glass. This exceptional example of Rithner’s work is extremely rare and as beautiful as the day it was made.



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ed Rithner was my Great Uncle by marriage. All of my family have enjoyed his remarkable paperweights throughout our lives and his work fills our homes to this day.
You have indeed shared a beautiful photograph of one of his works.

Joseph Crisalli said...

I'm so glad to hear from you. I'm a great fan of your relative's work and hope to add more of it to my collection one day. Your family must be proud of his remarkable talent. Thank you for your comment.

Anonymous said...

We are extremely proud of his talent and the legacy he has left behind. Thank you for being a fan!