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

The design for these sculptural tazza can possibly be attributed to Eugene Julius Soligny, who worked for Tiffany & Co. from around 1858 to 1894. Born in Paris in 1832, Soligny studied under Léonard Morel-Ladeuil, a skilled sculptor and chaser who in 1859 immigrated to England to work for Elkington. Soligny immigrated to the United States in 1856, and likely began work at Tiffany & Co. in 1858 after meeting Edward C. Moore on his scouting trip to Paris in 1855. Though Soligny often worked in partnership with others at the firm executing the chasing for their designs, notable designs of his own include the Comanche Trophy, and a swan centerpiece shown at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.

A pair of similarly shaped tazza to those offered here with borders densly chased with birds and foliage designed by Soligny for the "American Flora" tea and coffee service for Mary Jane Morgan are illustrated in John Loring, Magnificent Tiffany Silver, 2001, p. 136. Also illustrated is a wall plaque designed for the 1878 Paris Exposition with a similar female figure to those found on the stems of the present lot, as well as a salver designed for the 1876 Centennial Exposition depicting two cupids with butterfly wings also similar to those found on the stems of the present lot, both p. 132.