Tiffany Studios

Alastair Duncan, Louis C. Tiffany: The Garden Museum Collection, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2004, pp. 374-375

Martin Eidelberg, Nina Gray and Margaret K. Hofer, A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls, exh. cat., New-York Historical Society, 2007, p. 75

William R. Holland, Tiffany Desk Sets, Atglen, PA, 2008, p. 229

Timeless Beauty: The Art of Louis Comfort Tiffany, The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, Atglen, PA, 2016, p. 149

Kelly A. Conway and Lindsay R. Parrott, Tiffany’s Glass Mosaics, exh. cat., The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY, 2017, p. 201

Alastair Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2019, p. 441, no. 1796

Ferneries, as they were called at the time, were popular in the early part of the 20^th century and Tiffany Studios made several models to meet the demand. The company frequently featured them in advertising, placed in periodicals such as Vogue and Vanity Fair, as suggested wedding or Christmas gifts. The “Arrowhead” model, with a design also based on an aquatic flower, includes mosaic passages and fully displays the finest characteristics of the firm’s work in this field. Tiffany began utilizing mosaics as early 1881 in the decorating of the Seventh Regiment Armory and the Church of the Divine Paternity, both in New York City. It was not until 1893 with the manufacturing of Favrile glass, however, that his company began producing the mosaics for which they received international recognition.

The “Arrowhead” planters were made in either gilt or patinated bronze. The lower body in this example has a rich brown patina, realistically representing flowering giant arrowheads (Sagittaria montevidensis). This was a plant the company frequently employed in its designs of objects ranging from lamp shades to tea services. The remainder of the body is covered with small rectangular iridescent glass tesserae in shades of greens and blues. These tesserae, enhanced with wavy ribbons of silver, blue and violet iridescence, seem to represent a tranquil garden at dusk.

The planter confirms Tiffany’s conviction that not only did women, especially those employed by him, have a better sense of color, they were also superior in differentiating and harmonizing tones. Although Tiffany’s fancy goods are not as well-known as his windows and lamps, they exhibit the same extraordinary artisanship. This Arrowhead fern jardinière is an exquisite example and affords a chance for collectors to better understand and appreciate this largely overlooked segment of the firm’s production.

– PAUL DOROS