Favrile thumbnail 1
Favrile thumbnail 2
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On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Favrile

Bottle
1896 (made)
Artist/Maker
Tiffany Glass & Decorating Co. (manufacturer)
Stourbridge Glass Co., Corona Glassworks (maker)
Tiffany, Louis Comfort (designer)
Place of origin
Long Island (New York) (made)

Iridescent 'Favrile' glass in the form of a perfume sprinkler

Object details

Category
Images Online
Object type
Bottle
TitleFavrile (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Glass, with metallic lustre
Glass
Hand-Blown
Brief description
Bottle, America, New York (Long Island), designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, for Tiffany Glass & Decorating Co.,Stourbridge Glass Co. Corona glassworks, 1896
Physical description
Iridescent 'Favrile' glass in the form of a perfume sprinkler
Dimensions
  • Height: 40.7cm
  • Diameter: 16.5cm (Note: At widest to base)
Styles
19TH CONT
Art Nouveau
Marks and inscriptions
Inscribed '+1279' (In handwritten form but method not clear)
Gallery label
It is thought that 'Favrile' glass was so-named after the word 'fabrile', 'old English' for 'handmade', indicating that the range was made by skilled craftsmen. The lustre effect was achieved by treating the glass with metallic oxides and exposing it to acid fumes. It was originally intended to re-create the iridescent effects seen on ancient Roman glass. This example is made in the shape of a 'Persian perfume sprinkler'. Tiffany persuaded Arthur J Nash, a talented glassblower from Stourbridge, England, to join him in America to work on experimental projects. In 1893 the two men went into business establishing the Stourbridge Glass Co. at the Corona glassworks, Long Island, New York. At first much of the glassworks was devoted to the production of stained glass, but a glass-blowing shop was also included.
(1987-2006)
BOTTLE

512-1896

'American and European Art and Design 1800-1900'

The manufacture of blown glass vessels was a natural extension to the highly successful production of coloured glass windows which were an integral part of the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company. The glass blowing division was operating by 1893 and was closely supervised by Tiffany himself. The term 'Favrile' advertised the fact that the pieces were hand-blown and, although susceptible to the fashions of the time inusing fluid Islamic or oriental shapes with natural and organic decoration, Tiffany's lustred finishes and stylish forms are unmistakably his own.
Object history
Bought from Tiffany & Co. 221 Regent Street, London
Bibliographic references
  • Potter, Norman & Douglas Jackson: Tiffany... see 509-189
  • Greenhalgh, Paul (Ed.), Art Nouveau: 1890-1914 . London: V&A Publications, 2000
Other number
9412 - Glass gallery number
Collection
Ceramics Collection
Accession number
512-1896

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Record createdDecember 13, 1997
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1162/favrile-bottle-tiffany-louis-comfort/
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