Vase

c. 1900

Vase, c. 1900. Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company (American, New York, 1892–1902), Siegfried Bing (German, active in France, 1838–1905). Favrile glass, silver mount; 13 x 11.5 cm (5 1/8 x 4 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Charles Maurer 2018.279 This small vase is made of Louis Comfort Tiffany's signature Favrile glass. Early on when Tiffany began collaborating with glass artists on new types of production, his aesthetic ambitions were realized in the development of Favrile glass, deliberately named to sound French, expensive, and “handmade.” Largely through Tiffany's marketing ability, Favrile glass became America’s greatest contribution to the Art Nouveau style. His works were exhibited at international expositions; galleries in major European cities, where his creations were bought by many museums; and in his store in Manhattan, known as the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Co., later Tiffany Studios. Along with the many shapes and sizes of his decorative vases, Tiffany used Favrile glass in mosaic panels, stained glass windows, and his artistic line of table and floor lamps. This vase has French mounts indicating that it was likely sold by Louis Comfort Tiffany's agent in Paris, Siegfried Bing, who helped popularize Tiffany's designs throughout Europe.