This Tiffany Favrile Glass Vase is an exceptional example of the "Tel-el-Amarna" glass first developed by Tiffany Studios around 1909.
The body of this vase is formed by deeply saturated teal blue glass with soft surface iridescence. A wide band of golden-amber glass at the shoulder is decorated with an overlapping zig-zag motif articulated in striated and silvery blue glass, accented by the bright blue lip.
Though for many years vases all Tiffany Glass vases featuring this style of banded decoration were referred to as "Tel-el-Amarna," recent scholarship has revealed that the "Amarna" designates a specific color of blue, a reference to the archaeological excavations at Amarna. Period records and archives from Tiffany Studios indicate the company named decorative patterns on the bands, of which there are several variations. This style, featuring overlapping bands of zig-zags, is noted in the Nash notebooks as 'Byzantine.'
This piece of original Tiffany blown glass is signed on the underside with date code indicating that it was produced in the year 1913, a particularly important year for Louis Comfort Tiffany's personal Egyptomania. In February 1913 Tiffany hosted the famed Egyptian Fête at the Tiffany Studios Showroom; period photographs of the event reveal that the showroom was decorated with Tiffany Favrile Glass vases like this one to set the scene for the guests, who appeared in Egyptian costumes.
References:
Paul Doros, The Art Glass of Louis Comfort Tiffany, New York, 2013, 93-94
Height: 12 ⅛ inches (30.9 cm)