TIFFANY STUDIOS | "Peacock Feather" Gooseneck Vase

Heritage Auctions, New York, November 16-17, 2012, lot 62022
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Robert Koch, Louis C. Tiffany: The Collected Works of Robert Koch, Atglen, PA, 2001, p. 194 (for a related example)
John Loring, Louis Comfort Tiffany at Tiffany & Co., New York, 2002, p. 141 (for a related example)
Martin Eidelberg, Tiffany Favrile Glass and the Quest of Beauty, New York, 2007, p. 49 (for a related example)
Paul E. Doros, The Art Glass of Louis Comfort Tiffany, New York, 2013, p. 193 (for a related example)
Timeless Beauty, The Art of Louis Comfort Tiffany, The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, Atglen, PA, 2016, p. 63 (for a related example)

Overall very good condition. The body of the present example is mold-blown to create a subtle diamond-quilt effect below the curvaceous neck and sculptural rim. The exterior is beautifully iridized, imparting the vase with a full range of brilliant-jewel tone hues which further heightens the peacock motif. The glass with some small air bubble and particulate inclusions throughout. The widest point of the body with a small open air bubble on the surface. The above noted air bubbles and inclusions are inherent in the making and not at all visually detracting. The curved neck of the vase with a very subtly rough texture, likely resulting from the over-application of metallic salts to achieve the iridization to the surface. The interior with some light surface soiling. A superlative highly sculptural and nuanced work, displaying exquisitely rendered peacock decoration and outstanding coloration and iridescence. 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.

Louis C. Tiffany traveled extensively and made numerous visits to the Middle East.  These trips influenced his aesthetics in myriad ways, including some of the shapes utilized by his glasshouse.  This is particularly evident in the Favrile vases that today are referred to as “Goosenecks.”

Silver rosewater sprinklers in this form first appeared in India during the 16^th century.  The model was replicated in both silver and glass extensively throughout Persia 300 years later and it is extremely likely that Tiffany was familiar with these later examples through his travels.   But while the Persians generally made their vases in basic transparent colored glass, those made by Tiffany Studios are either opaque or, if transparent, enhanced with a tooled decoration.

The vase offered here is a superlative example, with its curvaceous neck and pointed oval rim.  The elongated oviform body, executed in green-tinted glass with a delicate opalescent white inner lining, was mold-blown to create a diamond-quilt effect.  It was then decorated with a pulled-feather design and, finally, the entire exterior was enhanced with a brilliant multi-hued iridescence that is particularly striking on the gently ribbed neck.  Deceptively simple in appearance, Tiffany’s blown Favrile version of the rosewater sprinkler required all of the glassblower’s skills and this, together with the fragility of the slender neck, likely accounts for its relative rarity. 

—Paul Doros