Collecting Millefiori Paperweights

Millefiori, or millifiori, as it is sometimes spelled, is Italian for "thousand flowers", a reference to the common floral or star pattern usually seen in each glass rod created for jewelry, beads, and paperweights. These glass rods containing a floral pattern inside. These rods are then cut, arranged in an attractive design and fused inside a clear glass paperweight which can range from a globe shape to egg shape. The millefiori tradition has its roots in ancient Rome where glass rods, or canes, were blown and cut and used in decorative glassware, particularly mosaics. Today the millefiori design can be seen in pottery, glass, even decorative candles.

There are many different makes and styles of millefiori paperweights, which range from antique to modern, affordable to the more expensive. Of course a collector of such paperweights may favor one type over another. My own collection leans toward the Murano millefiori paperweights, although I have one Chinese paperweight I keep displayed on my living room coffee table.

Concentric style millefiori paperweights are common but other styles include latticino, which is a spiral collection of glass ribbons with a grouping of millefiori canes inside the paperweight, as well as "floating" millefiori paperweights, where the canes are suspended throughout the interior of the glass paperweight. The concentric ones have circles of canes at the base of the paperweight. These can range from alternating colors to one paperweight consisting entirely of the same color. Most millefiori paperweights you see usually have tiny air bubbles in them. This is quite normal, since these paperweights are made from hand blown glass.