Tiffany Studios Monumental Vase

Tiffany Studios
Monumental Vase

circa 1916
Favrile glass
engraved 3933M Louis C. Tiffany Furnaces Inc. Favrile
16½ in. (41.9 cm) high
10¾ in. (27.3 cm) diameter

Condition Report:
Overall in very good condition. When viewed firsthand, the vase displays impressive scale and sculptural presence. The vase is executed in a cool teal color, which is richly decorated with mesmerizing swirls of brick red and orange as well as fluidly articulated gold lily pads and iridescent silver-blue vines. The glass presents with occasional minor air bubbles, particulate inclusions and surface irregularities which are inherent in the making and not visually distracting. The interior of the rim with some fine tooling marks, inherent in the making and not visually distracting. The glass surfaces throughout with scattered, very fine and light surface scratches consistent with age and gentle handling. The green interior of the vase with traces of light surface soiling. The underside of the vase is applied with small protective felt pads and a Doros Collection accession number. A robust, stunning work with rich abstract decoration and grand stature.

Catalogue Note:
Making Waves: The Influence of Hokusai

Louis Tiffany’s devotion to nature for artistic inspiration has been well-documented. He did, however, find inspiration elsewhere and perhaps no source was more significant than his collection of Asian art. Tiffany had an extensive holding of Japanese ukiyo-e, or woodblock, prints and was very familiar with the works of Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), whose works were prominently displayed in Laurelton Hall’s “Japanese Room.” Hokusai repeatedly depicted landscapes that were based on actual locations, but a sense of naturalism was always imbued with varying degrees of abstraction.

Hokusai’s design philosophy is particularly evident in his interpretations of water, whether in the form of majestic waterfalls, powerful whirlpools or crashing waves. The phenomenal monumental vase offered here perhaps directly reflects his influence on Tiffany’s overall aesthetics. Large light-yellow lily-pad shapes, all with a delicate multi-hued iridescence, are apparently trapped in a maelstrom of yellow, brick-red and iridescent silver-blue waves, all on an incredible opaque powder blue ground. It is a superb example, one of many that led Tiffany to declare towards the end of his life: “I believe the most beautiful thing in the universe is glass.”

- PD

Provenance:
Sotheby’s New York, June 9, 1988, lot 445