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TIFFANY STUDIOS | "Aventurine Lava" Vase from the Collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany
Estimate
25,000 - 35,000 USD
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Description
- Tiffany Studios
- "Aventurine Lava" Vase from the Collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany
- engraved L.C. Tiffany Favrile 13A-Coll
- favrile glass
- 5 3/8 in. (13.7 cm) high
- circa 1910
Provenance
Collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany, Laurelton Hall, Laurel Hollow, New York
Private Collection
Private Collection, Connecticut
Lillian Nassau, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Private Collection
Private Collection, Connecticut
Lillian Nassau, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Condition
Overall very good condition. This vase bears Tiffany’s “A-Coll” mark, indicating that it was personally selected by Louis C. Tiffany for his personal collection at Laurelton Hall in Laurel Hollow, New York. The vase presents with rich and highly tactile aventurine lava drips around the rim and shoulder, which flow down the semi-transparent and iridescent body. The lava drips are enhanced with inclusions of crushed iridescent gold glass, which impart a radiant sparkling effect to the vase. The glass with some minor air bubbles and particulate inclusions inherent in the making and not visually detractive. The interior and exterior of the body are beautifully iridized, which offers a wonderful visual and coloristic complement to the rich green aventurine glass and brilliant gold accents. A superb example of this highly advanced series from Tiffany’s own collection. When viewed firsthand, the coloration of this vase is slightly more nuanced and less red than seen in the catalogue illustrations, which are slightly over saturated. Please feel welcome to contact the department for additional images of this 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.
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.
Catalogue Note
Louis C. Tiffany’s proudest artistic achievement was probably the creation of Favrile glass. He loved it in all the multitude of ways his companies utilized the material, but none more so than the blown glass vases. In his 1914 ghost-written autobiography, he claimed that it was these objects, and not his leaded glass windows, that brought him his greatest fame. Tiffany extolled that the vases were “distinguished by certain remarkable shapes and brilliant and deeply toned colors, usually iridescent like the wings of certain American butterflies, the necks of pigeons and peacocks, the wing-covers of various beetles.”
No piece better exemplifies how truly remarkable blown Favrile pieces can be than the Aventurine Lava vase offered here. The transparent yellow body, of classic proportions and with a gold iridescence, is decorated with an irregularly dripped band of sparkling green aventurine glass in varying thicknesses. Marvered into the recesses formed by the green overlay are small bits of crushed iridescent gold glass, a decorative technique that is likely unique to this object.
It is no wonder why Louis C. Tiffany selected this vase to be in his personal collection, as signified by the A-Coll inscription on its base. It is a breathtakingly beautiful masterpiece, brilliantly conceived and executed. The vase was recognized as such by Tiffany himself and it is still clearly evident in the approximately 100 years after it was created.
—Paul Doros
No piece better exemplifies how truly remarkable blown Favrile pieces can be than the Aventurine Lava vase offered here. The transparent yellow body, of classic proportions and with a gold iridescence, is decorated with an irregularly dripped band of sparkling green aventurine glass in varying thicknesses. Marvered into the recesses formed by the green overlay are small bits of crushed iridescent gold glass, a decorative technique that is likely unique to this object.
It is no wonder why Louis C. Tiffany selected this vase to be in his personal collection, as signified by the A-Coll inscription on its base. It is a breathtakingly beautiful masterpiece, brilliantly conceived and executed. The vase was recognized as such by Tiffany himself and it is still clearly evident in the approximately 100 years after it was created.
—Paul Doros