What does millefiori actually mean in glass?

It translates to a thousand flowers. The term describes the technique where glassmakers bundle rods of different colours together and stretch them out. When you slice that bundled rod, the cross-section looks like a tiny floral blossom. Makers pack hundreds of these slices into the base of the dome to build the pattern.

My grandmother kept one of these heavy floral glass domes on her writing desk for years but I never really understood what the white powdery base inside it is made from?

That white base is called a latticinio ground. It consists of opaque white glass threads pulled and twisted into fine mesh patterns. Glassworkers arrange these threads on a metal plate before gathering clear glass over them. The latticinio provides a bright background that makes the coloured floral canes stand out clearly. Sometimes they spin the threads in a single direction, while other pieces have double spins that create a lattice effect.

How heavy should a glass paperweight be?

It depends on the size and the lead content of the glass. A typical mid-nineteenth century desk piece feels dense for its size. You'll expect it to weigh enough to hold down a stack of stiff paper in a breeze.

I was looking at the bottom of an old one at a fair recently and noticed the base had a rough circular scar right in the centre, is this damage from being dropped?

That rough circle is the pontil mark. It happens during the making process rather than from subsequent damage. The maker attaches a metal rod to the base to hold the hot glass while shaping the top dome. When they finish shaping the crown, they snap the rod off, leaving a rough glass scar behind. Sometimes a factory ground this mark flat or cut a star pattern over it, but many everyday pieces were left with the raw snap mark intact.

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Antique Paperweights

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Antique paperweights are dense glass domes originally made to secure loose documents on draughty desks. They peaked in the mid-nineteenth century, mostly encasing intricate millefiori canes or lampwork motifs beneath clear lead crystal.