MARK OF TIFFANY & CO., NEW YORK, CIRCA 1880

Details

A FINE SILVER AND MIXED-METAL TEAPOT
MARK OF TIFFANY & CO., NEW YORK, CIRCA 1880
Square on four bracket feet, the hand-hammered body applied with patinated copper gourd, a mokume butterfly, a gold and copper dragonfly, a gold bud and a copper butterfly all amid paulownia leaves, the hinged cover with copper bug and copper finial, the curved handle with ivory insulators, marked under base, also marked 5048/185/741
5 in. (12.7 cm.) high; 16 oz. 10 dwt. (526 gr.) gross weight

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

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Lot Essay

This model was one of Tiffany & Co.'s most successful creations in the Japanesque style. It was designed by Edward C. Moore, Tiffany's director, for the 1878 Exposition Universelle in Paris. Tiffany's exhibit of Japanesque-style silver won worldwide acclaim at the Exposition, as well as the grand prix for silverware. Moore's genius lay in the combination of colorful metallic alloys with organic forms and ornament derived from nature.

A teapot of this model, with a matte (but not hammered) finish, is in the collection of the New-York Historical Society and illustrated in John Loring, Magnificent Tiffany Silver, 2001, p. 59. Another example sold in these Rooms, 18-19 January 2002, lot 258.

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