Vase

This Favrile glass vase was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) at the start of the 20th century. Spherical in form with a raised circular foot, the vase possesses an attractive iridescent green sheen. Blown-moulded in clear glass, the vessel has been decorated on the inside with green glass additions that create a floating semi-abstract pattern. This technique was developed further in Tiffany’s paperweight glass.

Art Nouveau designs drew heavily from nature and this vase is no exception. The heart-shaped green leaves and trailing brown lines resemble Morning Glory, a botanical design motif, which can be found on many of Tiffany’s products. The decoration on this vessel is particularly fluid and complements the vase’s organic form.

The vase is engraved ‘L.C.T R2209’ on its base, which corresponds to a 1902 production date. The earliest Tiffany blown glass dates from 1894 and was produced at the newly founded Stourbridge Glass factory in Corona, Queens, New York. [1] In the year of the vase’s manufacture, this company was reorganized as Tiffany Furnaces. [2]

Louis Comfort Tiffany patented his lusterware in 1881, and registered Favrile as a trademark in 1894. [3] Tiffany gave a detailed description of the colour and character of lusterware when he applied for the patent in 1880.

‘The effect is a highly-iridescent one of pleasing metallic lustre, changeable from one to the other, depending upon the direction of the visual ray and the brilliancy or dullness of light falling upon or passing through the glass….The metallic luster is produced by forming a film of a metal or its oxide, or a compound of a metal, on or in the glass either by exposing it to vapours or gases or by direct application.’ [4]

Vanessa Tothill, November 2020

[1] John Loring, Louis Comfort Tiffany at Tiffany & Co. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2002), p. 242.

[2] Loring, p. 244.

[3] Loring, pp. 241-42

Read More