Tiffany Studios

Skinner, Boston, Massachusetts, February 25-26, 1982, lot 30

"Reviews," Art & Auction, May 1982, p. 91 (for the present lot illustrated)

Paul E. Doros, The Art Glass of Louis Comfort Tiffany, New York, 2013, p. 154 (for the present lot illustrated)

Aquamarine glass was one of the last innovations introduced by Tiffany Furnaces. Louis Tiffany was fascinated by water: he sailed a small sloop outside Oyster Bay, designed and produced several large fountains, and even had a small stream traverse the interior of his Laurelton Hall mansion. It is therefore not surprising that he desired a type of glassware that directly reflected his affinity for water.

In July 1913, Tiffany sent Arthur E. Saunders, one of his gaffers, to Bermuda to examine the marine life and vegetation in the surrounding tropical waters from a glass-bottomed boat. The intent was for Saunders to replicate, in glass, what he saw when he returned to Corona. The final result, after a surprisingly short period of experimentation, were Aquamarine vases that were met with immediate critical success. Featuring thick, heavy bodies of transparent green-tinted glass encasing a highly naturalistic motif, the pieces were highlighted in magazine articles and Tiffany & Company’s Blue Book from 1914 to 1917, some priced as high as $400. This exorbitant price was an indicator of how exceptionally difficult it was for the glasshouse to produce these objects, some of which weighed as much as 25 pounds. And even after the gaffer had successfully finished his role, many examples shattered and broke while being annealed.

The vase offered here is likely unique. The internal design, encased in thick, green-tinted transparent glass, showcases beautifully formed white water lilies and blue-green lily pads attached to sinuous stems emanating from a green pebbled base simulating the bottom of a pond. The deeply concave center of the body is exceptionally unusual and creates an additional refractive

quality that amplifies the three-dimensionality of this aquatic scene.

–PD