Baccarat
French, founded 1764Faceted Snake on Lace Ground, ca. 1850
On view
Glass
Dimensions3 in. (7.6 cm)
Museum purchase with funds from the Jill Ford Murray Irrevocable Trust in memory of her parents, Carlotta Espy Ford and George Ross Ford, Jr., and her grandparents, Grace Miller Ford and George Ross Ford, 2013.21
In some cultures, the snake is a symbol of evil but in others it can represent fertility, wisdom, and the power to heal. In this paperweight, the artist has chosen the serpentine form to show off the beauty of colored glass on surface resembling lace, known as upset muslin.
