Paul Ysart Millefiori Canes

Signature Canes

Size of Actual Canes

The picture above shows actual signature canes against a measure of millimetres.
The largest cane is approximately 3 mm diameter and the smallest is 1 mm.

Unfortunately, I do not have actual samples of the two earliest forms of PY cane or of a later cane which sets the "PY" amongst a myriad of other tiny canes (see below). If anyone would like to donate an example I would be most grateful.

1930s to 1950s - Monart (Pre & Post War)

I am aware of two forms of signature cane used from the 1930s to the 1950s.

The first has a white core with green casing formed as a 16-cog or 16-rib pattern. The pink "PY" letters are centralised within the white core. For the "P" there is a distinctly round white inner element and the down stroke is quite short. The "Y" has a relatively long stem with short, even length upper strokes.

In the second example, the "PY" letters are the same as those described above but are set in a smaller white core and this is encircled by alternating canes of a) light blue, white and yellow b) dark blue, white and pink.

For the weights illustrated in this article, the first of the two canes appears in eight examples. Because of the varying settings and quality of glass dome, there can appear to be visual differences in those canes. However, all are of the same form. The second of the two canes is seen in two of the weights used in this article.

1960s - Caithness

For the Caithness period from 1963 to 1970, I know of only one style of signature cane - although two visual forms of this cane are illustrated above. On close examination, the first clearly shows multiple shallow ribs around the cane but the second appears to be a simple green core. In fact, the second, which is of one of my actual sample canes, does have the multiple ribbing but the external coating tends to hide this feature - and that is sometimes how the cane appears when set in weights.

The "P" is very much like that used in the earlier examples except that the inner core of the top of the letter is more of a "D" shape than round. The "Y" is quite different from the first examples, having a relatively thin left upper stroke and a slightly curved right upper stroke. Where the upper strokes meet the upright of the "Y" there is often a darker spot of pink glass.

However, until evidence is available that proves the point, it would be unwise to assume that the canes I have mentioned here were the only ones used in the Caithness period. There may well be items from that period that use the earlier signature canes or completely different versions.

1970s - Harland and later

In the Harland and later years from 1971 to 1979, there were certainly at least three forms of PY signature cane. These all have the same central section as the Caithness canes but the outer elements are a) a circle of five blue-white-green cog canes, b) a circle of five pink-white cog canes and c) a mass of tiny canes. In addition to the PY cane, the general "H" cane was often, but not always, used for regular production pieces.

The larger of the canes shown is formed from at least sixteen circular groups of approximately eighteen canes each, tightly set around the PY cane, giving a total of close to 300 canes forming one main cane! The one shown here is from a photo I took of an actual cane in a private collection - as stated earlier, I do not have a sample of this cane of my own, nor do I (yet) have a paperweight that contains this cane.

As with the caveat for Caithness period, there could be items from the 1970s period that use other forms of cane, either from earlier years or of some other design.

General Millefiori Canes

Canes with an individual image border are used in more than one item - see the section on Cane Matching for details.

Click any image (or link within the notes) to view details for the item with that cane.

Solid centre, Open centre, Tubular surround

Table 1	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
01
02						-	-	-

Notes:

• Canes of type A01 through F01 may be found in the work of various makers
• Canes with pale blue bodies, such as H01 & A02, may be seen in other Scottish work
• The cane at A01 is also seen in the Inkwell

Internal Daisy, Star & Cog with central elements

Table 2	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
01								-

Notes:

• Cane A01, from a 1930s Sulphide weight, is very much like those seen in the Vasart "Y" weight range. For examples, see the cane tables in my article, Ysart Brothers / Salvador Ysart and also cane 25 in the Vasart Cane section of ysartglass.com
• The cane at A01 is also seen in the Roundels weight

External Daisy, Star & Cog with central elements

Table 3	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
01
02
03
04
05					-	-	-	-

Notes:

• C05 & D05 are probably the same basic cane
• The cane at A01 is also seen in the Roundels weight
• Cane A02 is aslo found in the Footed Spoked Concentric weight
• A03 is also used in the Inkwell

Single Row, 5-Cane Surround

Table 4	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
01		-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Notes:

• The cane at A01 is also seen in the Roundels weight

Single Row, 6-Cane Surround

Table 5	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
01					-	-	-	-
02
03								-

Notes:

• Row 01 shows canes with identical elements throughout
• For rows 02 & 03, the central element differs from the outer row
• Canes A01 & B01 although similar, are definitely of different blues
• The yellow and black elements of E02 are very similar to Vasart work (see cane 54 in the Vasart Canes section of ysartglass.com)
• Canes with colouring and style of G03 are quite common in Scottish work
• Cane A02 is also seen in the Orange Garlanded Butterfly weight and the Inkwell
• Cane B02 is also used in the Inkwell

Single Row, 7-Cane Surround - Different Central Cane

Table 6	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
01								-

Notes:

• Cane G01, as shown, is a wing cane for a Dragonfly

Single Row, 8-Cane Surround - Different Central Cane

Table 7	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
01								-

Notes:

• Cane G01 is quite similar at a glance to a Vasart cane (item 49 in the Vasart Canes section of ysartglass.com) - but there are a number of actual differences, not least of which is that the Vasart version has only 7 canes in the outer row
• The cane at A01 is also seen in the Inkwell

Double Row, 6-Cane Surround

Table 8	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
01
02
03					-	-	-	-

Notes:

• The "stardust" cane at A01 has a direct equivalent in Vasart work (see cane 46 in the Vasart Canes section of ysartglass.com)
• For C03 and D03 the edges are actually compressed extensions of both the inner and outer row of canes, giving the appearance of a striped third row
• Cane A01 is also found in the Garlanded Cluster weight
• Cane A02 is also seen in the Dragonfly weight
• Cane A03 is also used in both the Magnum Concentric and the Dragonfly weights

Double Row Surround - Varying Numbers Per Row

Table 9	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
01

Notes:

• A01 has rows of 8 & 9 canes; B01 has 6 & 11; C01 has 7 & 11; D01 has 9 & 11; E01 has 8 & 12; F01 has 7 & 14
• For canes G01 & H01, it is very difficult to discern their true structure, even in the actual weights

Multi-Cane Surround

Table 10	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
01
02		-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Notes:

• For H01, the inner section, seen through the base of the weight, shows a central open red star in grey sleeve surrounded by three green stars alternating with three orange stars. But in the setting of this cane, the normal top view shows no evidence at all of the orange stars!

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