Following a successful career with Associated Artists, a New York decorating firm that catered to an exclusive clientele, Louis Comfort Tiffany formed the Tiffany Glass Company in 1885 and officially began an odyssey in glass that was to lead to discovery, fame, and fortune. During this time, Tiffany designed and produced stained-glass windows for churches and mansions. The success of this venture and a desire to experiment more with forms and colors led him to establish glass furnaces in Corona, New York, on Long Island in 1892. The Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company made its debut to high acclaim at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago the next year with a Byzantine chapel display. Tiffany's now famous "favrile" glass, a term he applied to his handwrought blown glass, was also introduced in 1893 and marketed beginning in 1895. The new type of glass built upon the extensive knowledge acquired during Tiffany's search for ideal colors and textures to use in his stained glass windows. The 1899 Paris Exposition had featured a large display of Tiffany glass, and it was there that the new style was born. By 1900, favrile glass was well known and collected in Europe.
Acclaim was not enough to ensure financial success. While Tiffany had intended to offer his artistic glass creations to a broader public, the expense of production pushed the price out of reach for most Americans, though they certainly were less expensive than his stained-glass windows. The company reportedly operated at a loss.
Within the realm of favrile glass the possibilities were endless. One type of favrile glass, seen in the morning glory vase pictured here, used a technique borrowed from French paperweight manufacturers. Paperweights have a design that is tooled and shaped, then encased in subsequent layers of clear glass or very rarely, encased in opal glass. Designs ranged from naturalistic flowers to abstract foliage and required great skill to achieve the desired effect. Another type of favrile glass was iridescent, its effect produced by adding metallic salts to the batch. It could be made in many different colors, but the most popular was a bright peacock blue. Steuben's Frederick Carder was sued by Tiffany for infringing on the latter's patent for iridescent glass. The case was settled out of court, and Tiffany's claims were determined to be unfounded.
Tiffany had from an early age been exposed to Asian art through the decorative arts imported for sale in his father's store. An orientalizing fish motif appears on this agate glass example, named for its striking resemblance to the stone. It was created by layering opaque glass of several earthy shades, one atop the other, and then carving through the layers to reveal the colors underneath. This rare fish-carved, faceted vase bears the inscription placed on objects that Tiffany kept for his own collection, which contained only the most unusual or exquisite objects.
The skill of the glassblowers and chemists employed by Tiffany should not be overlooked. Some eventually took their skills-and the company secrets-and started rival firms, such as Quezal. And some had come to Tiffany bearing the trade secrets of other companies. One of the latter, Arthur J. Nash, the Corona furnace supervisor and head glassblower, had worked in Stourbridge, England's glass capital, before accepting Tiffany's invitation to join him. He is sometimes credited with the invention of Tiffany peacock blue and cypriote glass (a rare type whose pitted surfaces and broken bubbles simulated the look of ancient wares). There is no question, however, that it was Tiffany's vision of a more artful world that was the catalyst for the great achievements in glassblowing for which he earned so much fame.

WNH and KB

REFERENCES

Robert Koch. Louis C. Tiffany, Rebel in Glass. New York: Crown Publishers, 1966. Pp. 119-29.

Diane Chalmers Johnson. American Art Nouveau. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1979. Pp. 107-08.

Philip D. Zimmerman, ed. Turn of the Century Glass: The Murray Collection of Glass. Ex. cat. Currier Gallery of Art, 1983. P.12.

Jane Shadel Spillman and Susanne K. Frantz. Masterpieces of American Glass. New York: Crown Publishers, 1990. Pp. 50-56.

Alastair Duncan. Louis Comfort Tiffany. Ex. cat. National Gallery of American Art, Washington, DC, 1992. Pp. 80-100.

Following a successful career with Associated Artists, a New York decorating firm that catered to an exclusive clientele, Louis Comfort Tiffany formed the Tiffany Glass Company in 1885 and officially began an odyssey in glass that was to lead to discovery, fame, and fortune. During this time, Tiffany designed and produced stained-glass windows for churches and mansions. The success of this venture and a desire to experiment more with forms and colors led him to establish glass furnaces in Corona, New York, on Long Island in 1892. The Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company made its debut to high acclaim at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago the next year with a Byzantine chapel display. Tiffany's now famous "favrile" glass, a term he applied to his handwrought blown glass, was also introduced in 1893 and marketed beginning in 1895. The new type of glass built upon the extensive knowledge acquired during Tiffany's search for ideal colors and textures to use in his stained glass windows. The 1899 Paris Exposition had featured a large display of Tiffany glass, and it was there that the new style was born. By 1900, favrile glass was well known and collected in Europe.
Acclaim was not enough to ensure financial success. While Tiffany had intended to offer his artistic glass creations to a broader public, the expense of production pushed the price out of reach for most Americans, though they certainly were less expensive than his stained-glass windows. The company reportedly operated at a loss.
Within the realm of favrile glass the possibilities were endless. One type of favrile glass, seen in the morning glory vase pictured here, used a technique borrowed from French paperweight manufacturers. Paperweights have a design that is tooled and shaped, then encased in subsequent layers of clear glass or very rarely, encased in opal glass. Designs ranged from naturalistic flowers to abstract foliage and required great skill to achieve the desired effect. Another type of favrile glass was iridescent, its effect produced by adding metallic salts to the batch. It could be made in many different colors, but the most popular was a bright peacock blue. Steuben's Frederick Carder was sued by Tiffany for infringing on the latter's patent for iridescent glass. The case was settled out of court, and Tiffany's claims were determined to be unfounded.
Tiffany had from an early age been exposed to Asian art through the decorative arts imported for sale in his father's store. An orientalizing fish motif appears on this agate glass example, named for its striking resemblance to the stone. It was created by layering opaque glass of several earthy shades, one atop the other, and then carving through the layers to reveal the colors underneath. This rare fish-carved, faceted vase bears the inscription placed on objects that Tiffany kept for his own collection, which contained only the most unusual or exquisite objects.
The skill of the glassblowers and chemists employed by Tiffany should not be overlooked. Some eventually took their skills-and the company secrets-and started rival firms, such as Quezal. And some had come to Tiffany bearing the trade secrets of other companies. One of the latter, Arthur J. Nash, the Corona furnace supervisor and head glassblower, had worked in Stourbridge, England's glass capital, before accepting Tiffany's invitation to join him. He is sometimes credited with the invention of Tiffany peacock blue and cypriote glass (a rare type whose pitted surfaces and broken bubbles simulated the look of ancient wares). There is no question, however, that it was Tiffany's vision of a more artful world that was the catalyst for the great achievements in glassblowing for which he earned so much fame.

WNH and KB

REFERENCES

Robert Koch. Louis C. Tiffany, Rebel in Glass. New York: Crown Publishers, 1966. Pp. 119-29.

Diane Chalmers Johnson. American Art Nouveau. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1979. Pp. 107-08.

Philip D. Zimmerman, ed. Turn of the Century Glass: The Murray Collection of Glass. Ex. cat. Currier Gallery of Art, 1983. P.12.

Jane Shadel Spillman and Susanne K. Frantz. Masterpieces of American Glass. New York: Crown Publishers, 1990. Pp. 50-56.

Alastair Duncan. Louis Comfort Tiffany. Ex. cat. National Gallery of American Art, Washington, DC, 1992. Pp. 80-100.