Tiffany Studios

A Collector's Eye: Brown Vases

As has been mentioned in the previous two Doros Collection sales (December 2022 and June 2023), my father, Jay, found brown Favrile blown glass vases especially appealing. Perhaps it was because he had brown eyes, but the fact that his wardrobe was also predominately brown probably should not have made this attraction a surprise. Jay also had an independent streak, and while many collectors found these dark, opaque objects unappealing, my father ignored market trends, recognizing the unique and unexpected beauty of many of the brown pieces.

These five vases are the final brown examples to be offered from the collection and each one is special. The double-gourd vase (lot 445), inspired by Asian pottery, is decorated with iridescent trailing green stems and leaves and iridescent gold flowers having green and cream star-shaped millefiori centers. The second similar double-gourd shaped vase (lot 444) once again demonstrates my parents’ desire to make their collection something of a study gallery. Instead of marvered foliage and iridescent millefiori flowers, this example’s foliage is in relief with finely engraved features and the flowers are deeply cut and engraved, exposing the white inner lining. The third brown double-gourd vase (lot 443), with its deep vertical ribbing, does not imitate Asian ceramics. Instead, its inspiration was similar patinated bronze pieces being made in Japan at the turn of the 20^th century.

The two remaining brown vases being presented are highly unusual and bear special scrutiny. The uneven vase (lot 447), with its brown body swirled with darker shades of brown, was possibly Tiffany’s interpretation of Japanese Wabi-Sabi pottery from the 1600s, with their irregular shapes and surfaces. The “warts” on the vase were likely created with the addition of unmelted bits of silica marvered in just below the surface.

The last brown vase in the grouping, lot 446, is one of the most unusual pieces ever produced by Tiffany Furnaces. Although the “N” suffix seemingly indicates the vase was made in the 1920s, it is just as likely that it was created much earlier but never left storage and offered for sale because of its rather unique appearance. With swirls of brick-red and umber, the vase seems as if it were made from petrified wood. What is even more unusual than its color is the vase’s shape and texture. One side is smooth, glossy and lustrous. The reverse, however, is deeply dimpled and has a rough texture vaguely reminiscent to that of an elephant’s hide. For an object so small, its visual impact is extraordinary.

- PD