Vase with serpent mounts

Viktor Aarne|House of Carl Fabergé|Tiffany Furnaces

Glass: 1897–99, Mounts: 1899–1904 · Blown Favrile glass; silver gilt mounts · The American Wing

This silver-gilt and glass vase is one of a very few examples that represent the collaboration between Louis C. Tiffany and Tiffany & Co. in New York, Edouard Colonna in Paris, and the workshops of Fabergé in St. Petersburg, Russia. Tiffany glass with Fabergé mounts are very rare, and this exquisite example is particularly special in that it has its accompanying design drawing, a beautifully rendered watercolor (2014.698.1). The blown-molded vase in Tiffany’s trademark Favrile glass exhibits the artist’s signature turquoise color, further enhanced with pulled threaded decoration. The overall iridescence and luster are complemented by the ornate silver mounts in the form of intertwined snakes. The mounts are composed of two snakes on the rim and three on the base, each writhing and twisting around themselves. Expertly designed to create this imaginative work of art, the snakes at the rim appear to be crawling inside the vase while the lower mount rests upon the three snakes’ heads.

Artist

Viktor Aarne|House of Carl Fabergé|Tiffany Furnaces

Date

Glass: 1897–99, Mounts: 1899–1904

Medium

Blown Favrile glass; silver gilt mounts

Culture

American, Russian

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of the children of Malcom S. Forbes, in his memory, 2014