Tiffany Studios Paperweight Vase

Tiffany Studios
Paperweight Vase

circa 1907
Favrile glass
engraved 6307C L.C. Tiffany-Favrile with the firm's paper label
6 in. (15.2 cm) high

Condition Report:
Overall in very good condition. When viewed firsthand, the transparent body of the vase is elegantly encircled by cream swirls that endow the piece with a great sense of movement. Five plume motifs flow from the base to the neck of the vase, articulated first in forest green, vivid violet and finally nuanced shades of pink, orange and coral. The glass presents with occasional minor air bubbles, particulate inclusions and surface irregularities which are inherent in the making and not visually distracting. The lower third of the vase with a very small circular irregularity against one of the plumes, 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 glass along the underside of the vase displays a subtle craquelure texture, inherent in the making and only visible when the vase is turned over. The interior of the vase with traces of light surface soiling. The underside of the vase is applied with a Doros Collection accession number. An eye-catching “Paperweight” vase with painterly motifs that accentuate its elegant silhouette.

Catalogue Note:
"My Flower Garden": The Collection of Robert and Emily de Forest

This “Paperweight” vase, with its very unusual and colorful motif, was originally in the collection of Emily and Robert Weeks de Forest (1848-1931), Robert was the brother of Lockwood de Forest, one of Louis Tiffany’s first business partners. Louis and Robert were also close personal friends and neighbors in Cold Spring Harbor, where the Tiffanys and de Forests frequently went sledding together. A highly regarded lawyer, de Forest was the general counsel for the Central Railroad, the first Tenement House Commissioner in New York City, president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1913 to 1931 and he, together with his wife Emily Johnston de Forest, was largely responsible for the funding and building of the museum’s American Wing. He was also instrumental in the museum obtaining Tiffany’s famous Autumn Landscape leaded glass window in 1925 that is still prominently displayed in the wing.

Robert and Emily moved to 7 Washington Square in New York City shortly after getting married in 1872. At that time, the house was largely decorated with inherited furnishings from the colonial period. The couple, however, soon added their own decorative touches: ancient glass, Oriental rugs, Japanese and Chinese decorative objects, and a number of pieces of furniture obtained from Lockwood. There was also a wide selection of objects from the Tiffany Studios, a collection that expanded when Louis Tiffany was commissioned to decorate a library addition. The de Forest’s significant holdings of blown Favrile glass were exhibited throughout the house, including approximately 20 flower forms displayed in the library’s bow window that Emily referred to as “my flower garden.”

- PD

Provenance:
Emily and Robert Weeks De Forest, New York
Private Collection
American Antiques, Appraisals, Auction Service, Keene Valley, New York, August 16, 1986, lot 67