History of millefiori
Another major grouping of paperweights in the Barker Collection incorporates millefiori canes in the construction. Millefiori-decorated objects have been created intermittently from the time of ancient Mesopotamia to the present day. Bowls of fused millefiori canes are known to have been made in ancient Rome and Alexandria, and there are a few references to examples of millefiori work during the Renaissance. By the eighteenth century, however, the technical knowledge for the manufacture of millefiori was lost. It was not until the nineteenth century that a revival of the technique appeared. By the end of the 1830s, millefiori were manufactured successfully in Silesia-Bohemia. Within two or three years of its rediscovery, factories in Venice, England, and France were also producing quantities of millefiori canes.

Creating a patterned glass cane

Process of manufacture
Cut from long, thin glass rods, millefiori canes were prepared in the following manner: The glassworker took a gather of molten glass on a pontil, or long iron rod, and rolled it back and forth on a marver, or flat surface, until it formed a solid cylinder. The cylinder was then pressed into a die-cut mold that had a geometric shape or the outline of a specific animal or figure. The piece was further embellished by dipping on additional layers of varying colors of glass. As each layer was added, it was rolled onto the ever-growing cylinder or pressed into increasingly larger molds to vary the cane's ultimate design.

Three example glass rods France, 1960s

The finished cylinder of glass, approximately six inches long and three inches in diameter, was reheated until pliant. Pontil rods attached to each end were pulled apart, stretching the yielding cylinder pencil-thin. The stretched cooled cane was then sliced into hundreds of little discs, each an exact miniaturization of the original design. For more complex designs, lengths of the stretched canes were cut into six-inch pieces, bundled in a geometric pattern, heated until fused together, stretched pencil-thin, and slices again. In this manner, glassworkers were able to produce unlimited millefiori cane designs from a limited selection of molds.

Once a quantity of millefiori canes was produced, they were combined into a variety of patterns limited only by the ingenuity of the artisan. To create a paperweight, a design of canes was arranged in a metal ring, and a gather of molten glass on the end of a pontil rod was brought down upon the design. The canes adhered to the molten glass. The rod was repeatedly dipped in glass until an adequately thick lens was produced over the millefiori design. While still plastic, the glass was blocked and shaped. Slightly cooled to a stable state, it was broken off the pontil rod and placed in an annealing oven to cool slowly.

Cane types
There are specific kinds of canes formed by the glassmakers. They include, in addition to the myriad types of flower-like patterns, the simplest rod canes, star canes, cog canes (shaped liked the cogs of a gear wheel), Clichy Rose cane, and silhouette canes, which contain a figure of an animal, person, or plant, a date or maker's mark.

Close millefiori weights contain a small forest of canes thrusting up from the base side by side with little space between them.

Close Millefiori Baccarat, dated 1849

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Chequers millefiori weights get their name from the filigree twists that act as separators among the space canes.

Clichy, circa 1845-55

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Concentric millefiori weights may be closely positioned or spaced in rings around a center cane.

Close Concentric Millefiori
Union Glass Works
circa 1845-55

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Pattern millefiori weights feature canes that are arranged in patterns such as lines, flower-like forms, or symmetrical rings.

Pink and White Pattern Millefiori
Clichy, circa 1845-55

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Garland millefiori weights contain canes arranged in loops, lobes, C-scrolls, or circlets.

Garland Millefiori on Red
Clichy, circa 1845-55

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Carpet ground millefiori weights look like a carpet of small identical ( often star or rod) canes interspersed with larger spaced millefiori canes.

Moss Carpet Ground Millefiori
Clichy, circa 1845-55

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Mushroom millefiori weights are those containing a central upright mushroom-shaped cluster of millefiori canes in a clear body, with or without overlays and printies.

Magnum Millefiori Mushroom
Baccarat, circa 1845-55

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Overlays consist of a coating of colored opaque or translucent glass on the surface of a (Usually millefiori) weight, through which are cut windows called printies.

Turquoise Overlay Mushroom Millefiori
Clichy, circa 1845-55

More Information About Millefiori Paperweights