MARK OF TIFFANY & CO., NEW YORK, CIRCA 1872

In 1867, a water pitcher of this design was exhibited at the Tiffany & Co. display at the Paris World's Fair. Charles Venable notes in Silver in America, 1840-1940, A Century of Splendor, that the growing adventurousness of American silver designs caught the attention of European silver manufacturers at that exhibition. Indeed, Frederick Elkington & Co. attempted to purchase the entire Tiffany & Co. display outright, without success. They were able, however, to purchase a number of pieces, including a pitcher of this pattern. The design was copied by the English firm in 1868, and the drawing is illustrated in Silver in America, illus. 3.5, p. 70. An Elkington pitcher and a pair of goblets sold in these Rooms on April 15, 1997, lot 250. A Tiffany pitcher sold in these Rooms, 21 January 2000, lot 304.