"were now" in the sentence: Factory production made an absence of imperfections so blandly commonplace that the defects of hand-produced goods were now cherished where they once might have been shunned 是什麼意思

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@lovelywind To answer your second question, Yes, you can say, "Are now cherished', but it will change the meaning a little bit.

The sentence now is completely in the past, 'were now cherished where they once might have been shunned' implies ALL the actions in the past are in the past. They were being cherished (but maybe are not being cherished today)

"ARE now cherished where they might have been shunned" is the present and the past, so it means that 'cherishing' has not stopped, it is still happening today.