Early & Important Tiffany Studios Decorated Cypriote Favrile Glass Vase, circa 1899. Marks: L.C.T., K1374. 9-7/8 x 9 inc...

Description

Early & Important Tiffany Studios Decorated Cypriote Favrile Glass Vase, circa 1899
Marks: L.C.T., K1374
9-7/8 x 9 inches (25.1 x 22.9 cm)


PROVENANCE:
Collection of Gladys Koch Antiques;
Purchased from the above by a private collector, New Jersey.

LITERATURE:
R. Koch, Louis C. Tiffany's Art Glass, New York, 1977, pl. 10, fig. 18.

Produced in 1899 immediately before Tiffany Studios' Grand Prix-winning presentation at the 1900 Paris Exposition, this exceptional glass vase demonstrates the firm's virtuosic command of the medium, pushing both its technical and aesthetic boundaries. Tiffany Studios began to produce Cypriote glass, inspired by ancient Cyprian glass artifacts excavated by Luigi Palma di Cesnola in the 1860s and thereafter acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as early as 1896. In an effort to imitate the irregular, pitted surfaces caused by centuries of decay, the Studios added crushed glass and spelter to the gather, which decomposed and released oxygen at high temperatures and created bubbles and pits. This large spherical example features the bubbled and pockmarked texture characteristic of Tiffany Studios' Cypriote line, as well as pistachio "King Tut" swirls to the neck and swaths of highly iridescent gold with hints or orange, pink, and blue forming three lantern-form apertures to the body. With its commanding size and intricate decoration, it stands as a masterwork of the firm during a period of tremendous experimentation, critical acclaim, and commercial success.



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