This extremely unusual early Tiffany Favrile Glass Vase is a fascinating example of the company’s early period of blown glass production. The vase combines several of the innovative techniques developed as a result of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s partnership with glass chemist Arthur Nash and the skilled glassworkers employed at Tiffany’s private furnaces in Corona, Queens.
The simple footed classical form of the vase contrasts the experimental mix of glassblowing techniques employed to achieve the decoration. The surface of the vase exhibits an extremely successful early application of the brilliant iridescence for which Tiffany Glass would become world-renowned. The opaque cylindrical neck, accented by a subtle swirl of the base glass in shades of golden yellow, widens at the shoulder where it is decorated with alternating horizontal bands: two thick silvery-purple wave motifs frame a central band of hooked narrow striations of deep golden-amber.
The body of the vase is characterized by hand-carved vertical facets which, through the removal of the surface iridescence, reveal the translucence of the vibrant yellow base glass, juxtaposing the opaque decoration above and below. Beneath the facets, the lower portion of the body is decorated with a pulled hooked motif in silvery-gold framed by thin borders of deep purple. The glassworker masterfully carved around this curvilinear gestural motif, forming an irregular lower edge to the faceted portion of the vase.
There are few extant pieces of Tiffany Favrile Glass which feature a carved faceted surface; a handful of the known vases are part of a related signature sequence which date them to a very brief highly experimental period of production around 1895-96. This important series of Tiffany Glass vases likely represents the work of a specific glassblower who had the training and skill set to execute the technically complex decorative program seen on the this vase. We are thrilled to offer three other vases from this limited early faceted Favrile Glass series, while an example was purchased by the Corning Museum of Glass from Lillian Nassau LLC in 2017 (accession no. 2017.4.9).
This rare and important example of early Tiffany Glass is inscribed on the underside with date code.
Height: 8 inches (20.3 cm)
