Small Paperweight in the Form of a “Langouste” Pâte de Verre by Amalric Walter and Henri Bergé

This French Art Nouveau pâte de verre paperweight (or “Presse Papiers”) by Amalric Walter and Henri Bergé is an earlier, and smaller version of a series of “Langouste” paperweights from the duo. The paperweight has a reddish-brown, crimson-spotted “Langouste,” or spiny lobster, resting resolutely on a sculpted pâte de verre base of swirling yellows and greens, as if it were a rock carpeted in fine algae, swayed by the sea. The lovely detail in the posturing of the creature, the careful arrangement of its legs and tail, suggest that it is bracing itself against the pull of an invisible tide.