The Doros Collection: The Art Glass of Louis Comfort Tiffany
The Doros Collection: The Art Glass of Louis Comfort Tiffany
Tiffany Studios and Tiffany & Co.
Inkstand
Auction Closed
June 7, 10:21 PM GMT
Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Tiffany Studios and Tiffany & Co.
Inkstand
circa 1903
Favrile glass, sterling silver
engraved L.C.T./F825
lid monogrammed EW, impressed STERLING/12071 and inscribed T127/E153
5½ in. (14 cm) high
7 in. (17.8 cm) diameter
Richard A. Bourne, Hyannis, Massachusetts, December 15, 1987, lot 304
John Loring, Louis Comfort Tiffany at Tiffany & Co., New York, 2002, p. 236 (for the present lot illustrated)
Marilynn Johnson, Louis Comfort Tiffany: Artist for the Ages, New York, 2005, p. 173, cat. 78 (for a related example in the collection of the Newark Museum of Art)
Marilynn Johnson, Louis Comfort Tiffany: Artist for the Ages, New York, 2005, p. 173, cat. 78 (for a related example in the collection of the Newark Museum of Art)
The relationship between Louis Comfort Tiffany and his father, Charles Lewis Tiffany, as well as that of the two companies each man headed, was complex and not easily defined. Charles was likely disappointed that Louis decided to make his living as an artist and interior decorator instead of joining Tiffany & Company, the family business. Charles, however, was responsible for persuading many of his wealthy clients to hire Louis to decorate their mansions and the churches they attended. In June 1881, Louis, at Charles’ suggestion, was elected a director of the Tiffany & Company’s Board of Trustees. Also, Tiffany & Company had its own lucrative ecclesiastical department, yet Charles, “by mutual agreement,” transferred the department and all its contracted business to the Tiffany Glass Company in October 1891. Furthermore, some of Charles’ friends were the initial investors in the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company and Tiffany & Company was the only enterprise in New York City, besides Tiffany Studios, permitted to retail the diverse products manufactured by Louis’ various firms.
Tiffany & Company, in addition to marketing Favrile glass objects, purchased approximately 200 pieces between 1897 and 1909 to which they designed and added custom-made silver, gilt silver or gold mounts. This inkstand likely comes from a third series of the silversmith’s production, created around 1900, with the silver mounts designed by John T. Curran, Tiffany & Company’s head silver designer at the time. Curran favored scrolled motifs, as demonstrated by the silver collar on the shoulder, and the cushioned and dimpled hinged cover artfully mimics the elephant-foot shape of the body.
- PD
Tiffany & Company, in addition to marketing Favrile glass objects, purchased approximately 200 pieces between 1897 and 1909 to which they designed and added custom-made silver, gilt silver or gold mounts. This inkstand likely comes from a third series of the silversmith’s production, created around 1900, with the silver mounts designed by John T. Curran, Tiffany & Company’s head silver designer at the time. Curran favored scrolled motifs, as demonstrated by the silver collar on the shoulder, and the cushioned and dimpled hinged cover artfully mimics the elephant-foot shape of the body.
- PD