Art Nouveau Paperweight with Mussels Amalric from Walter & Henri Mercier-Nancy, 1920s

Two mussels on a yellow stone base covered with algae. Signed 'AWALTER NANCY' and 'hm'. Manufactory: Amalric Walter & Henri Bergé, Nancy, Lorraine, France Dating of manufacture: circa 1920/1930 Designer: Victor Amalric Walter (1870-1959) was a French glass manufacturer mainly known for his pâte de verre pieces. In the Cristalleries Daum at Nancy, France, he met the designer and modelist HENRI BERGÉ, with whom he produced the first pâtes de verre, which at the time were only signed with "Daum Nancy". After the war he continued to work with Henri Bergé. from 1919 to 1935 he cast no fewer than 500 models with Bergé and other famous sculptors or designers, always in few numbers due to the sophisticated technique of glass kiln casting. Henri Mercier (XIX. - XX.) Design Technique: Pâte de verre (English glass paste) is a technique used in the production of multi-colored glass. A cold-formed paste made of glass powder and dyes is filled into a refractory mold and then fired in a muffle furnace, whereby the glass melts into the desired shape. To achieve polychrome color effects, the process is repeated with other colors. The technique was already known in ancient Rome and Egypt. Particularly in the Art Nouveau period and later in the Art Deco period, she found artistic use again in works by French glass artists such as Gabriel Argy-Rousseau, Henry Cros, Albert Dammouse, François Décorchemont, Amalric Walter, Émile Gallé and George Despret. Size: Height: 4.0 cm / 1.57 in Width: 7.0 cm / 2.75 in Depth: 6.0 cm / 2.36 in Bibliography: Carolus Hartmann, Glasmarken-Lexikon ( = Encyclopedia of Glass Marks ),Stuttgart (Germany) 1997, mark number 387 on page 42. Condition: very good.