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See more objects with the tag display, vases, bronze, glass, art nouveau, bulbous, scarab, Favrile.

Object Timeline

1920

  • Work on this object ended.

1970

1984

  • We acquired this object.

2012

2015

2016

2018

2024

  • You found it!

Vase Vase

This is a vase. It was overseen (as design director) by Louis Comfort Tiffany and manufactured by Tiffany Studios. It is dated ca. 1909–10 and we acquired it in 1984. Its medium is bronze electroplated semi-porcelain, glass. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

Tiffany’s Favrile pottery is known for its unique color effects, created by mixing chemicals directly into the clays rather than surface painting. This vase also features Tiffany’s bronze electroplating technique, introduced on clay objects in 1908, which gave the exterior a metallic quality. Tiffany has combined this modern innovation with an ancient Egyptian motif: scarabs. Ancient Egyptians believed the scarab, or dung beetle, represented the sun god Khepri. They placed scarabs of semi-precious stone and faience on mummies for good luck and as symbols of resurrection. Here, removed from their original meanings, the glass scarabs serve as simple adornment to meet the American craze for all things Egyptian, a fascination begun with the first archaeological expeditions to Egypt in the 1860s. Tiffany produced thousands of glass scarabs, along with several thousand other unique items each year—including this vase—in his Corona, Queens, factory. Tiffany’s pottery efforts never garnered the enormous success of his stained glass and other ventures, and by 1920, he had given up the venture altogether.

This object was donated by William Goodman and Marcia Goodman. It is credited Gift of Marcia and William Goodman.

  • Vase (Italy)
  • blow and cased glass.
  • Gift of Michael Lewis Balamuth.
  • 1971-66-2
  • Scarab (USA)
  • mold-blown favrile glass.
  • Museum purchase through gift of K.R. Gerry.
  • 1958-51-1
  • Paperweight (USA)
  • earthenware, glaze.
  • Gift of Marcia and William Goodman.
  • 1983-88-9

Our curators have highlighted 2 objects that are related to this one.

Its dimensions are

H x diam.: 13.4 x 7.3 cm (5 1/4 x 2 7/8 in.)

It has the following markings

Incised on bottom, under bronze electroplating: conjoined "LCT"

Cite this object as

Vase Vase; Manufactured by Tiffany and Co. (United States); Design Director: Louis Comfort Tiffany (American, 1848–1933); USA; bronze electroplated semi-porcelain, glass; H x diam.: 13.4 x 7.3 cm (5 1/4 x 2 7/8 in.); Gift of Marcia and William Goodman; 1984-84-31

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Passion for the Exotic: Louis Comfort Tiffany and Lockwood de Forest.

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18618519/ |title=Vase Vase |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=25 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>