Tiffany Studios

Sotheby's New York, December 6, 1997, lot 510
Private Collection
Sotheby's New York, June 13, 2012, lot 6
Acquired from the above by the present owner

La Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1915

Alastair Duncan, Louis C. Tiffany: The Garden Museum Collection, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2004, pp. 258 (for related examples and the original 1913 watercolor "Morning Glories") and 548 (for a period photograph showing "Morning Glory" vases at the 1914 Paris Salon)
Martin Eidelberg, Tiffany Favrile Glass and the Quest for Beauty, New York, 2007, p. 68 (for related examples)

Overall very good condition. The glass surfaces with scattered extremely minor surface scratches consistent with age and gentle handling, with slightly more surface scratches concentrated to the widest point of the shoulder. The glass with scattered minor air bubbles and particulate inclusions, inherent in the making and not visually detractive, and with a small area of several tightly concentrated, minute air bubbles at approximately one-third height above the base, visible in the catalogue illustration. The interior edge of the aperture with small vertical toolmarks, inherent in the making and not visually detractive. The interior of the vase with some light surface soiling. The interior is intensely iridized throughout, imparting the vase with a beautiful sense of luminosity which cannot be fully appreciated in the catalogue photography. The artistic execution of the morning glory blossoms and trailing leaves and vines is extraordinary, showing incredible control and precisely rendered details. When viewed in the round, the vase displays a strong artistic composition with fluid movement evenly throughout. An exceptional exhibition-caliber vase.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This iconic design first appeared in late 1913 when Tiffany Furnaces decided to create paperweight-technique vases using transparent glass, but without an interior iridescence. This new design philosophy permitted the flowers to be the primary focal point, and the transparency of the glass added a greater three-dimensional aspect to the internal decoration.

According to Leslie Nash, who was the son of the glasshouse’s superintendent, Arthur Nash, the company was experimenting with special formulas for several reactive types of glass with a high silver content that changed colors when struck with heat. Louis Tiffany, aware of these experiments, came to Tiffany Furnaces one Monday in October 1913 with a watercolor of morning glories he had recently painted. He showed the painting to Arthur Nash and insisted the glasshouse reproduce his painting in glass. After numerous failures, the gaffers finally succeeded by using five different types of reactive glass. Leslie Nash claimed the company spent $12,000 in materials and labor by the time the first successful “Morning Glory” paperweight vase was created. For this reason, they were priced at no less than $1,000 each.

The model was first shown to the public at the 1914 Paris Salon and this lot, exhibited at the Paris Salon the following year, displays a subtle, yet interesting departure. The transparent glass still encases a beautiful design of morning glories, in various shades of violet, purple, blue and cream, and wonderfully artistic vines and leaves in multiple tones of green and brown. This example, however, has a light silver iridescence on the interior, creating a highly attractive and evocative effect and is again evidence of the continual experimentation within the glasshouse.

PAUL DOROS, former curator of glass at the Chrysler Museum (Norfolk, Virginia) and author of The Art Glass of Louis Comfort Tiffany (New York: Vendome Press), 2013