A very rare 'Old English' faceted concentric millefiori pedestal paperweight, late 19th centuryTraditionally attributed to Bacchus, the central silhouette cane of a young Queen Victoria in white on a deep cobalt-blue ground, set within three rows of composite canes predominantly in shades of red, green, white and blue, the outer row forming a stave basket, cut with an octagonal top window surrounded by all-over facets, raised on a deep cobalt-blue pedestal foot, 7.7cm diam, 5.2cm highFootnotes:No other pedestal paperweight containing a Queen Victoria silhouette cane would appear to be recorded. Whilst the traditional attribution for this paperweight is Bacchus, recent research suggests that it may instead be by another contemporary 'Old English' maker. Female silhouette canes with a 'square bun' and arched base would appear to characterise weights by makers including James Stevens and William Gillinder, see Alan Thornton, Old English Paperweights Revisited: What Do We Now Believe?, Annual Bulletin of the Paperweight Collectors Association, No.66 (2020), pp.39-41. Several of the canes within the present lot are characteristic of Thornton's 'Old English 2 Group', particularly in the colour palette used, but the inclusion of a portrait silhouette in this group is unknown meaning that a Bacchus attribution cannot be ruled out.