Tiffany Studios

This mirror is an incredibly rare and large-scale object from Tiffany Studios’ mosaic oeuvre. Tiffany traveled extensively across Europe and North Africa during the second half of the 19^th century, where he was exposed to the diverse ways in which ancient artisans integrated mosaic work into architecture, wall panels, flooring, objects, jewelry and more. Tiffany adapted this technique to his modern commissions in America beginning around 1879 with the production of mosaics for commercial, ecclesiastical, and residential interiors. The work was labor-intensive, requiring a team with patience, knowledge, and artistic sensibility as each piece of glass was hand-selected and cut to fit the design. As a critic wrote in the period, “the success of the mosaicist largely depends on the skill and aesthetic intuition of the artisan, for his individuality will assert itself in the selection and placing of the pieces of glass.”

Swiss artist Jacob Adolphus Holzer is likely responsible for the intricate design of the present lot. Having emigrated as a teenager from Switzerland to New York, Holzer trained with Augustus Saint-Gaudens and John La Farge before beginning to work for Tiffany in 1888. He proved his abilities early on, earning the title of lead mosaicist from 1890 to 1896, during which time his most famous designs included the lobby of the Marquette Building in Chicago, Illinois, and Alexander Hall at Princeton University, New Jersey. In the case of the present mirror, the geometric design is densely packed with square tesserae cut from complementary shades of white, pastel pink, pale green and sky blue favrile glass. Brilliant parcel-gilt tiles articulate the inner decorative band of alternating diamonds and ovals, amplifying the colors of the glass and the effects of light that play upon it. Finally, the diamond and oval shapes feature eye-catching centers of opalescent and striated glass as well as iridescent inlays of abalone shell.

After his tenure with the firm ended, Holzer continued producing windows and mirrors, a selection of which he exhibited at the National Arts Club in May 1901: "In the cases about the floor are many curious and many very beautiful forms, modern and ancient, American and European… Inlaid mirror frames by J.A. Holzer show a combination of the true glass mosaic with mother of pearl and marble…" None of his later work would be as celebrated as his contributions to Tiffany’s mosaic production, of which this elaborate mirror is a masterful example.