Tiffany & Co. Japonesque (japanese-inspired) Sterling Silver Vase With Original Insert

Rare Tiffany & Co. Japonesque sterling silver vase from the celebrated American Aesthetic Movement period. Combining refined silver craftsmanship with a distinctly Japanese-inspired decorative vocabulary, this vase is a characteristic example of Tiffany's artistic production during the final decades of the nineteenth century.

Object: Vase with original insert
Maker: Tiffany & Co., New York
Date: c. 1880–1891
Model Number: 2987
Work Number: M 918
Material: Sterling Silver (.925)
Decoration: Birds, reeds, aquatic plants and japonist ornament
Technique: Engraved and chased silver
Height: 21 cm (8.27 in.)
Foot Diameter: 8.5 cm (3.35 in.)
Marks: TIFFANY & CO., 2987, QUALITY 925-1000, M 918, UNION SQUARE, Dutch import mark "V" beneath a crown within a shield (Vreemde Werken mark)
Condition: Very good condition with minor age-related wear; original metal insert preserved

The slender cylindrical vase stands on four pierced scroll feet and is decorated with an engraved continuous frieze of birds among reeds and aquatic vegetation. The composition reflects the influence of Japanese art, which profoundly shaped American decorative arts during the Aesthetic Movement period. The combination of naturalistic motifs and elegant restraint is characteristic of Tiffany's Japonesque silver production.

An engraved ornamental band encircles the lower section of the body, while the preserved original insert confirms the vase's intended function and enhances its authenticity and desirability for collectors.

Produced during Tiffany's celebrated Union Square period, the vase belongs to a group of silver objects influenced by Japanese aesthetics and the international Aesthetic Movement. Under the artistic direction of Edward C. Moore, Tiffany & Co. became one of the leading innovators of American silver design in the late nineteenth century.

Comparable examples of Tiffany's Japonesque silver are preserved in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Cleveland Museum of Art; and other major American museums.

John Loring: Magnificent Tiffany Silver

Charles H. Carpenter Jr.: Tiffany Silver

William P. Hood Jr., Roslyn Berlin & Edward Wawrynek: Tiffany Silver Flatware 1845–1905. When Dining Was an Art, 1999

Dorothy T. Rainwater: Encyclopedia of American Silver Manufacturers, 3rd revised edition, 1986

Elizabeth McGoey (ed.): American Silver in the Art Institute of Chicago, 2017

Gorham Silver: Designing Brilliance 1850–1970, 2019

Medill Higgins Harvey: Collecting Inspiration: Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co., 2021

This piece may be viewed by appointment at:

Denes Szy, Kunsthandel
Königsallee 27–31
D-40212 Düsseldorf
Germany

We maintain a carefully selected inventory of Tiffany & Co. silver, American Aesthetic Movement objects, Art Nouveau, Vienna Secession, Jugendstil and important examples of European decorative arts from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

We also offer a wide selection of Tiffany & Co. pieces, works from the American Aesthetic Movement, Art Nouveau, the Vienna Secession, Jugendstil, and European decorative arts from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.