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Lot Essay
Identical pairs of embracing putti as those seen on the base of the present lot can be seen on the Renaissance Revival necklace designed by Paulding Farnham in 1904 and illustrated in John Loring, Paulding Farnham: Tiffany’s Lost Genius, 2000, p. 144. Farnham designed a number of pieces in the Renaissance taste, typified by the use of urns, putti, and acanthus scrolls in the often densely conceived arrangements. This can be seen on the pair of dessert plates designed for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 in St. Louis and sold in these rooms, 21-25 January 2010, lot 30, as well as a dessert bowl designed for the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, sold in these rooms 20 January 2011, lot 29.
A prolific designer, Loring notes “There was no style of silver design that Farnham was not at home with; and many of the styles, although named for other cultures, seemed to be purely of his own invention.” In addition to the Renaissance style of the present lot, Farnham exhibited a myriad of styles at both the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris and the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, including Neo-Classical, Viking, Native American, Burmese, Russian, and Middle Eastern (John Loring, Magnificent Tiffany Silver, 2001, p. 204).
It is interesting that Farnham chose sodalite for this piece, a stone often mined in British Columbia, Canada. He himself had mining investments in the region after purchasing the Ptarmigan Mine in 1898. At the time of the creation of the present coupe, Farnham had a strong interest in the creative possibilities of materials originating in British Columbia, and was in fact using raw materials from the Ptarmigan Mine such as gold and silver in other works from this period.
A prolific designer, Loring notes “There was no style of silver design that Farnham was not at home with; and many of the styles, although named for other cultures, seemed to be purely of his own invention.” In addition to the Renaissance style of the present lot, Farnham exhibited a myriad of styles at both the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris and the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, including Neo-Classical, Viking, Native American, Burmese, Russian, and Middle Eastern (John Loring, Magnificent Tiffany Silver, 2001, p. 204).
It is interesting that Farnham chose sodalite for this piece, a stone often mined in British Columbia, Canada. He himself had mining investments in the region after purchasing the Ptarmigan Mine in 1898. At the time of the creation of the present coupe, Farnham had a strong interest in the creative possibilities of materials originating in British Columbia, and was in fact using raw materials from the Ptarmigan Mine such as gold and silver in other works from this period.