Parabelle Glass and Julie Scrutton Lewis: Oregon, USA. Parabelle Glass began production in 1981 as the brainchild of Gary Scrutton. By all accounts, Gary Scrutton is an ingenious and talented artisan who masters whatever he puts his mind to. When he set his mind to paperweights, he did it all from scratch – from melting his own glass and designing his own molds to creating his own colors. His best weights are some of the finest ever made, comparing favorably to the best Classical French weights. Production continued to 1998 when he moved on to other interests. His daughter, Julie Scrutton Lewis, worked with him at Parabelle and eventually made weights under her own name, using Parabelle canes and the Parabelle studio, while adding her own marvelous sense of design and composition.
Gary Scrutton passed away on February 25, 2014.
PW134. Parabelle/Julie Scrutton Lewis 1998 Limited Edition Museum Piece. This is a three ring spaced concentric over a translucent tropical sea blue ground with beautiful, complex canes, including a full ring of edelweiss. Gary Scrutton was a stickler for detail. I had to use a microscope to try to count the individual strands of yellow glass surrounding the stamen in the each edelweiss – 25 strands each, more or less. Signed “Julie Scrutton Lewis 1998 – 25 of 25”. 2 3/8 inch diameter; 1 13/16 inches tall; nine ounces. Condition is Perfect. $175
PW133. Parabelle/Julie Scrutton Lewis 1998 Limited Edition Museum Piece. This is a three ring spaced concentric over a translucent tropical sea blue ground with beautiful, complex canes, and a full ring of edelweiss. Signed “Julie Scrutton Lewis 1999 – 9 of 25”. 2 3/8 inch diameter; 1 13/16 inches tall; nine ounces. Condition is Perfect. $175
PW1396. Parabelle Museum Piece 1989. Fabulous 6-row concentric closepack with a variety of canes including a full row of 15 Clichy-style roses and a large rose in the center all over a dark green ground. Signature cane: “PB1989” with a bell at the center. Parabelle label on base. Beautiful workmanship as always with Parabelle. 2 7/8 inch diameter; 1 15/16 inches tall; 13 ounces. Condition is excellent/as new. $375
PW199. Parabelle Glass 1998 Magnum Artist Proof. The production weights from Parabelle are excellent but the artist proofs, especially those in the last years of production, are absolutely amazing! They are without a doubt among the finest glass paperweights ever made – the famous French glass houses of the Classical Period aspired to made glass paperweights of this quality and failed. Most of these were made by Gary Scrutton as a retirement account of sorts, and they were released over a course of years after he closed his glass shop. He closed the door and left his shop just as it was and it stayed pretty much intact and unused until his death. These are a rare chance to own what must someday surely become some of the most valued glass paperweights ever made. Roses and edelweiss abound in this concentric closepack. All over a muslin ground. Condition is perfect. Signed (beautifully engraved) on the base: “Parabelle Glass Artist Proof 1998”. 3 1/4 inch diameter; 2 3/8 inch height; one pound and three ounces. $1600