Dimensions: 3-5/8" Diameter & 2-7/8” Tall

Makers Mark: Hand inspired to the side of the dome, "GS 99-36"

Provenance: Unavailable  

Condition: Excellent. No condition issues noted.

When talking about realism in glass it doesn't get better than Gordon Smith. For years Gordon has tirelessly honed his craft. Today he is at the height of his career - making some of the most realistic and biologically accurate compositions ever attempted in glass.

Compound weights like the one offered here are uncommon due to the difficulty in layering multiple encasements. This scene is executed in three layers. The upper layer depicts the surface of the pond with five delicately shaded waterlilies on a pale mottled transparent blue surface. Just under the surface of the water we find a pair of scaled Koi perfectly shaded in tones of orange and gold decorated with naturalistic spotting along the sides of the fish. The lowest level features a sandy bottom with carefully sifted tones of off-white and grains of darker frit and tumbled stones scattered along the bottom. 

Every detail in this work is crafted by using a torch, colored glass rods and fine metal instruments. Take for instance the scales on the snake and fish, these scales were individually sculpted and placed one at a time; each individually sculpted and then painstakingly applied one-by-one.  Few artists posses the skill, dedication and patients required to achieve such realism in a glass paperweight.