拍品 88
  • 88

銀鑲硬石開信刀

估價
12,000 - 15,000 USD
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描述

  • silver, hardstone
· 十顆蛋白石
· 共重約9盎司
· 長度11 3/8英寸
· 附Tiffany & Co., Makers, Sterling印記
· 約1902年

*拍品資料以英文為主,中文翻譯僅供參考

Condition

In fair to good condition overall. There are chips to three segments of obsidian on the blade, the blade is lightly abraded, scratched and nicked, giving it a nice texture. Slightly tarnished in the intricacy of the designs on the handle. The opals are quite clear, with pastel play of colors, mostly pink, green and lavender. The high relief points of the two larger opals are abraded, probably due to resting on a table. Of nice heft.
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. Illustrations in the catalogue may not be actual size. Prospective purchasers are reminded that, unless the catalogue description specifically states that a stone is natural, we have assumed that some form of treatment may have been used and that such treatment may not be permanent. Our presale estimates reflect this assumption.
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.

拍品資料及來源

This paper knife was part of a service commissioned by Albert C. Burrage for his 256 foot steam yacht Aztec, launched in 1902.  Burrage established the Amalgamated Copper Company, helped found the Chile Exploration Company and the Chile Copper Company and was also involved with Standard Oil.  It is purported that he provided Tiffany & Co. with enough silver bullion to produce a 384-ounce centerpiece, a tea service, and a punch bowl and ladle, all set with colored stones and designed with motifs and patterns inspired by the Aztec culture. Burrage’s personal signal flag and the burgee of the Eastern Yacht Club of Marblehead were emblazoned on the service.  In 1987, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, held an exhibition: “The Silver of Tiffany & Company, 1850-1987."  The service was included in the exhibition and the catalogue by Charles H. Carpenter, Jr. and Janet Zapata, no. 28, p.56. (Sold at Christie’s, January 23, 1988, lot 13).

Burrage’s hobbies were horticulture and minerology, so it is understandable why he would have turned to Tiffany & Co. and their head designer Paulding Farnham for this commission.  Farnham’s success with his delicate orchid jewels at the Exposition Universelle Paris in 1889, surely would have caught Burrage’s attention, a horticulturalist known for his own prized orchids. At the Paris exhibition the following year Farnham presented the iconic gold “Aztec” collar bejewelled with Mexican fire opals and red tourmalines, which the New York Times mentioned as being “said to form the finest collection of Mexican opals in the world”.  It was shown again the following year at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo (see Paulding Farnham, Tiffany’s Lost Genius, John Loring, p. 71.)   Farnham designed other objects in the Aztec style, including the Aztec Calendar plate exhibited at the 1893 Columbian exhibition (purchased by William Randolph Hearst, now in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum) as well as a great bowl from 1905 (sold Sotheby’s New York, January 23, 2009, lot 205). 

Another similar paper knife , described as being “executed in sterling, ivory and obsidian…depicting an Aztec god in high relief” was sold at Clar’s Auction Gallery, Oakland,  CA on February 19, 2012, Lot 2396.