This exceptional vase is an early example of an iconic form which has long been called “Jack in the Pulpit,” referring to a sculptural flower commonly found in the woodlands of North America. However, surviving period photographs from Tiffany Studios in addition to notations and drawings found in the notebooks of Tiffany’s glass chemists Arthur and Leslie Nash, held by the Rakow Research Library at the Corning Museum of Glass, indicate that this particular flower form was called the “Pansy” Vase.
This example dates from the mid-1890s, an experimental period at Louis Comfort Tiffany’s glass furnaces where artisans working under the direction of Tiffany and Nash perfected the techniques, forms and effects for which Tiffany Glass would become world renowned.
This vase features a domed foot with pinched detailing in opaque yellow glass which transitions to more translucent glass throughout the elongated neck, decorated with vertical white stripes. The neck flares out into a wide, flat circular flower face formed by deeply saturated golden yellow glass, the edges forming a wavy edge. This sculptural face is accented by Tiffany’s shimmering iridescence.
This piece of original Tiffany glass features an inscribed signature and date code on the underside which correspond to the dates indicated in the Nash notebooks.
Height: 15 inches (38.1 cm)
