Low-dome Closepack

Probably made in a - currently unknown - French glassworks, the weight is filled with white tubes - some as concentric tubes, some with coloured overlays, others containing a variety of 6-point stars. Scattered amongst them, however, are 7 or 8 extremely complex millefiori canes - so it must surely have been a glassworks experienced in producing millefiori. Or possibly the maker had brought these canes from another factory and was experimenting to test compatability. What let him down was the poor quality of the crystal - sugary and striated - although only when examined at close range. St Mandé and Grenelle were suggested as possible makers but firmly disputed by knowledgeable French collectors - it remains a mystery 19th Century Continental weight !
The concave base is polished and has a narrow wear rim.