Magnolia Vase
Tiffany & Co., ca. 1893
Metropolitan Museum of Art
I finally took a little time to edit some of the photos that I took on my recent visit to the Met in New York City so that I can share some of the wonderful things that I saw. One thing I enjoy is just wandering from gallery to gallery in large museums and seeing what appears. While doing just that I came across this marvelous Tiffany Vase on display. It was designed by John T. Curran (1859-1933) in New York City in 1893. And it made of silver, gold, enamel and opals. Here’s what the description card said: The Magnolia Vase was the centerpiece of Tiffany & Co.’s display at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago – a display Godey’s Magazine described as “the greatest exhibit in point of artistic beauty and intrinsic value, that any individual firm has ever shown.” The design of the vase was a self-conscious expression of national pride. The vegetal ornament refers to various regions of the United States: pinecones and needles symbolize the North and East; magnolias, the South and West; the cacti, the Southwest. Representing the country as a whole is the ubiquitous goldenrod, fashioned from gold mined in the United States. The work was heralded by the editor of the New York Sun as “one of the most remarkable specimens of the silversmith…art that has ever been produced anywhere.” You can read more about the vase here.
The Studio 