Individual Cane Analysis

This Butterfly cane is very distinctive. It is formed from simple and complex canes. The antennae are cog canes which have been flattened and the wings are cogs with complex central canes. The body and head are separate pink rods. There appears to be two white blobs below the head but these are perhaps just spaces between the various canes, although this is difficult to confirm even with a larger size image.

As stated in the main text, this cane has been seen in some Paul Ysart weights. With the same cane being found in both "Vasart" and Paul Ysart work, the cane may have been made pre-1940s and used by both Salvador and Paul, even though there were known family difficulties!

There is a similarly constructed, but rather more precise, Butterfly cane appearing in some other Paul Ysart weights, but with a pink outer sleeve rather than the green seen here.

Unfortunately I do not yet have good close-up images of other versions but a photo of the pink-sleeve cane is shown on page 22 of John Simmonds' book, Paperweights From Great Britain 1930 - 2000.

In the following tables, canes are ordered within groups of type: "cog / star / daisy", "single row complex", "double row complex".

The 15 canes immediately below, and also the Butterfly cane above, are matched to ones once owned by Vincent Ysart, pictured in various books and also in the "ysartglass" website. It is believed that those canes were originals by Salvador Ysart and inherited by Vincent (but see the previous comments relating to the Butterfly cane).

The 27 canes below do not match any in the known "Vincent set" but it is clear that, apart from the simplest plain white cog, all are very well formed and the majority have close similarities in structure to those above. Also, some are known in weights that show under UV as Ysart Brothers period (or earlier?). Some can be found in Salvador's "3D" butterfly and "Upright flower" weights.

This cane is not a separate item in its own right. At least, not in the weight discussed here. It is the central portion of cane 04, but has been seen as a stand-alone cane in other weights.

An interesting feature of this element, and its main reason for being shown here as an enlargement, is the "frilly" pink section. This layered structure has been seen in a few other early Vasart canes and may be a clue to identifying some pieces.