The name for the banded decoration of intersecting zigzags,

chains and other variations found on the applied necks

and bases of many Favrile vases has changed over time. Once

known as “Egyptian Collar,” the term “Tel-el-Amarna” has

come to be accepted. However, recently discovered evidence

indicates that “Byzantine” might be more accurate, as it

appears Ti! any Studios intended “Tel-el-Amarna” to refer not

to a decoration but to a particular shade of blue.

Ti! any Studios had a special exhibition at its Madison Avenue

showrooms in March 1909. A review of the display in the New

York Observer commented:

Mr. Ti! any of the Ti! any Studios has just succeeded in

producing the turquoise tone in Favrile glass. Upon this he has

been at work for a long time. That his success is a triumph

will be appreciated when it is known that only once before in

the world’s art history (the Egyptian Tel-el-Amarna period)

has this delicate hue in glass been approached, and that the

Ti! any glass in color and tone not only equals but surpasses the

Egyptian. Mr. Ti! any was inspired to try for this di" cult shade

in glass by seeing some rare bits of Egyptian porcelains of the

Tel-el-Amarna period while he was in Egypt two years ago.

Both the article in the Observer, and one appearing in the York

Evening Post, mention that some of the vases in the exhibit

were decorated with “bands of " ne interlacing design,” and

this is perhaps the basis for referring to all pieces with a similar

decorative motif as “Tel-el-Amarna.” However, the fact that

Arthur and Leslie Nash, in unpublished company notebooks,

referred to Favrile shades with a border decoration of zigzags

as “Byzantine” would seem to indicate that it, and not “Tel-el-

Amarna,” is a more historically accurate description for this

category of vases.

Tel-el-Amarna vases, with their classic shapes, diversity of

colors and wide range of decorative motifs have long been

favored by collectors. The McConnells’ collection superbly

exempli" es the " nest characteristics of this style, ranging from

a vivid “Mazarine” blue (lot 3) to a striking “Samian” red (lot 1),

and the imaginatively modi" ed decorations on the necks of lots

2 and 7.

— Paul Doros

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

14 SOTHEBY’S

4

TIFFANY STUDIOS

“Tel-el-Amarna” Vase

circa 1915

favrile glass

engraved 3341K L.C. Ti! any-Favrile

6⅞ in. (17.5 cm) high

$ 4,000-6,000

5

TIFFANY STUDIOS

“Tel-el-Amarna” Vase

circa 1910-1913

favrile glass

engraved 4611H L.C. Ti! any-Favrile

11¾ in. (29.8 cm) high

LITERATURE

John Loring, Louis Comfort Ti! any at Ti! any &

Co., New York, 2002, pp. 160-161 (for a closely

related example)

Martin Eidelberg, Ti! any Favrile Glass and the

Quest of Beauty, New York, 2007, p. 79 (for a

closely related example)

$ 7,000-9,000

6

TIFFANY STUDIOS

Monumental “Tel-el-Amarna” Vase

circa 1909-1910

favrile glass

engraved 3415E L.C. Ti! any-Favrile

19½ in. (49.5 cm) high

PROVENANCE

Barry W. Toombs Collection

Sotheby’s New York, March 24, 1984, lot 157

Private Collection

Christie’s New York, June 15, 1985, lot 491

A nearly identical example of this vase was sold

in the historic auction of Louis Comfort Ti! any’s

collection that had been removed from the

artist’s residence, Laurelton Hall. See Parke-

Bernet Galleries Inc., New York, September 24,

1946, lot 58.

$ 10,000-15,000

7

TIFFANY STUDIOS

“Tel-el-Amarna” Vase

circa 1920-1925

favrile glass

engraved 9650M L.C. Ti! any-Inc. Favrile

6½ in. (16.5 cm) high

$ 8,000-12,000

8

TIFFANY STUDIOS

Decorated Vase

circa 1898-1900

favrile glass

engraved L.C.T. L639 and with " rm’s paper label

14¼ in. (36.2 cm) high

PROVENANCE

Macklowe Gallery, New York, 1990

LITERATURE

Deutsche Kunst und Kunsthandwerk, no. 3,

1900, p. 379 (for a Ti! any vase with closely

related decoration exhibited at the Exposition

Universelles in Paris, 1900)

“Die Turiner Ausstellung,” Die Kunst, vol. 8, 1903,

p. 55 (for the archival photograph cited above)

Alastair Duncan, Louis C. Ti! any: The Garden

Museum Collection, Woodridge, Su! olk, 2004,

p. 231 (for the archival photograph cited above)

$ 10,000-15,000

1

TIFFANY STUDIOS

“Tel-el-Amarna” Vase

circa 1920-1925

favrile glass

engraved 5171N L.C. Ti! any-Favrile

7⅛ in. (18.1 cm) high

LITERATURE

Marilynn A. Johnson, Louis Comfort Ti! any: Artist

for the Ages, London, 2005, pp. 210-211 (for a

closely related example in the collection of Toledo

Museum of Art)

$ 12,000-18,000

2

TIFFANY STUDIOS

“Tel-el-Amarna” Vase

circa 1909-1910

favrile glass

engraved 3431E L.C. Ti! any-Favrile

12⅛ in. (30.8 cm) high

PROVENANCE

Christie’s New York, June 14, 1986, lot 505

LITERATURE

Jennifer A. Rennie, A Great Capacity for Beauty:

The Ti! any Glass Collection at the Haworth Art

Gallery, Accrington, Accrington, 2012, p. 44, no.

39 (for a closely related example)

Paul E. Doros, The Art Glass of Louis Comfort

Ti! any, New York, 2013, p. 95 (for a related

example in a variant color palette)

$ 10,000-15,000

3

TIFFANY STUDIOS

“Tel-el-Amarna” Vase

circa 1920-1925

favrile glass

engraved 5015N L.C. Ti! any-Favrile

6⅞ in. (17.5 cm) high

$ 8,000-12,000

PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF

DR. EDWARD AND HELEN McCONNELL

LOTS 1-36

8

15 IMPORTANT 20TH CENTURY DESIGN

10

TIFFANY STUDIOS

A Rare “Agate” Vase

circa 1920-1925

favrile glass

engraved 845N L.C. Ti! any-Favrile and with " rm’s

paper label

7⅜ in. (18.7 cm) high

PROVENANCE

Sotheby’s New York, November 17, 1984, lot 274

$ 20,000-30,000

Ti! any Furnaces was certainly not the " rst

glasshouse to attempt to create objects that

emulate the striations within stones. That

distinction went to Friedrich Egermann, a

Bohemian glassmaker, who invented Lithyalin

glass in the 1830s. Many other European

companies soon copied Egermann’s invention,

as did Ti! any, and Agate vases were among

his " rm’s earliest production. The use of a

swirled, opaque glass was a technique Ti! any’s

glassworkers were already familiar with in the

production of the sheet glass made for the

company’s leaded glass windows and it was a

natural transition to use the same glass for blown

vessels.

Favrile Agate vases, with their panel-cut surfaces,

perhaps come closer than any other glass objects

ever made in replicating the actual appearance

of sliced sections of striated and banded agate.

Many of these pieces, including the present

example from the McConnell collection, have

ground and polished top rims, a feature not

normally found in blown Favrile pieces. Their

artistic and commercial success is indicated

by the fact that Ti! any Furnaces continued to

produce Agate vases until the mid-1920s.

— Paul Doros

10

17 IMPORTANT 20TH CENTURY DESIGN16 SOTHEBY’S

9

TIFFANY STUDIOS

A Rare “Tesserae” Paperweight Vase

circa 1920

favrile glass

engraved Louis C. Ti! any Favrile

8⅝ in. (21.9 cm) high

PROVENANCE

Arthur Saunders, ga! er at Ti! any Furnaces

Albert Christian Revi Collection

Sotheby’s New York, November 17, 1984, lot 273

ILLUSTRATED

Albert Christian Revi, American Art Nouveau

Glass, Camden, NJ, 1968, p. 110A

$ 10,000-15,000

Tesserae vases, named after the small, ; at pieces

of glass used to make mosaics, are a type of

paperweight vase made relatively late in Ti! any

Furnaces’ history. The internal decorations for

paperweight vases were generally created by

laying out a design, comprised of small sections

of glass, on a marver. The ga! er would then roll

the hot glass on his blowpipe over this, expand

the vase, and then cover the piece with a layer

of clear glass. Tesserae vases were made very

di! erently. Thin mille" ori slices, resting on small

pins, were placed side by side within a mold.

The ga! er would then blow a bubble of clear

glass inside the mold so the mille" ori would be

embedded on, and ; ush with, the exterior. The

mold was then opened, the bubble was slightly

expanded and shaped and, once again, the piece

would be covered with a layer of clear glass.

Tesserae vases are exceptionally rare because of

the time-consuming nature of their production.

— Paul Doros

9

18 SOTHEBY’S

This iconic design " rst appeared in late 1913, when Ti! any

Furnaces decided to move away from creating paperweight

vases with an interior iridescence. This new design philosophy

permitted the ; owers to be the primary focal point, and the

transparency of the glass added a greater three-dimensional

aspect to the internal decoration.

According to Leslie Nash, who was the son of Arthur Nash, the

glasshouse’s superintendent, the company was experimenting

with special formulas that created a glass that reacted and

changed colors when struck with heat. Louis Ti! any, aware

of these experiments, came to Ti! any Furnaces one Monday

in October 1913 with a watercolor of morning glories he had

recently painted. He showed the painting to Arthur Nash and

insisted the glasshouse reproduce his painting in glass. After

numerous failures, the ga! ers " nally succeeded by using

" ve di! erent types of reactive glass. Leslie Nash claimed the

company spent $12,000 in materials and labor by the time the

" rst successful Morning Glory paperweight vase was created.

For this reason, they were priced at no less than $1000 each.

The model was " rst shown to the public at the 1914 Paris Salon

and this lot, which is an outstanding example, was part of that

display. This vase is somewhat unusual in that, while most

Morning Glory vases have an inverted top rim, it has a slightly

elongated neck, which creates a larger canvas to depict the

exceptional foliage.

— Paul Doros

11

TIFFANY STUDIOS

An Important and Rare “Morning Glory” Paperweight Vase

circa 1913-1914

favrile glass

engraved L.C. Ti! any-Favrile 8561H/Paris-Salon 1914

7⅜ in. (18.7 cm) high

EXHIBITED

La Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1914

LITERATURE

Robert Koch, Louis C. Ti! any’s Art Glass, New York, 1977,

" g. 97, no. 4 (for a related example formerly in the A. Douglas

Nash Collection) and " g. 127 (for the related example cited

below in the Metropolitan’s collection)

John Loring, Louis Comfort Ti! any at Ti! any & Co., New

York, 2002, p. 163 (for the related example cited below in the

Metropolitan’s collection)

Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Louis Comfort Ti! any and

Laurelton Hall: An Artist’s Country Estate, New York, 2006,

p. 123, " g. 208 (for a related example in the collection of The

Metropolitan Museum of Art, gift of Louis Comfort Ti! any

Foundation, 1951)

Martin Eidelberg, Ti! any Favrile Glass and the Quest of Beauty,

New York, 2007, p. 68 (for a related example)

Paul E. Doros, The Art Glass of Louis Comfort Ti! any, New

York, 2013, pp. 3 and 140-141 (for a related example)

$ 50,000-70,000

Archival photograph taken at Ti! any Furnaces, October 1925, entitled “display of prize pieces.” Amongst the items displayed are two Morning Glory paperweight vases and a Morning Glory watercolor painted by Louis Ti! any in October 1913.

11

19 IMPORTANT 20TH CENTURY DESIGN

20 SOTHEBY’S

TIFFANY STUDIOS

An Important and Rare “Lava” Vase

circa 1906-1907

favrile glass

engraved L.C. Ti! any-Favrile/4056C

9¾ in. (24.8 cm) high

PROVENANCE

Louis and Jack Drew, Omaha, NE, circa late 1970s

ILLUSTRATED

Art Nouveau Glass: A Connoisseur’s Collection, exh. cat.,

Georgia Museum of Art, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA,

1984, no. 9 and front cover

LITERATURE

Paul E. Doros, The Ti! any Collection of the Chrysler Museum

at Norfolk, Richmond, VA, 1978, pp. 53-54, nos. 65-66 (for a

related Lava vase and bowl decorated with abstract ; owers

and vines in the collection of the Chrysler Museum of Art)

Alastair Duncan, Fin de Siècle Masterpieces from the Silverman

Collection, New York, 1989, p. 49 (for a related Lava vase)

$ 75,000-100,000

There is a legend that Louis Ti! any was inspired to create

Lava vases after visiting Sicily and seeing Mt. Etna erupt. This

story is most probably apocryphal. It is far more likely that,

as Jane Shadel Spillman theorized, Ti! any was in; uenced by

seventeenth-century Japanese raku-" red ceramic tea bowls.

He was an avid collector of Japanese objects, and it is no

surprise that some of the earliest pieces of blown Favrile glass

were compared to “those freakish little things made nowadays

in Japan of a rough-textured, strong pottery…that strike one

far more as grotesque than beautiful.”

Lava vases are intriguing as they were perhaps the only type

of blown Favrile glass that required an extended period of

development until the glassmakers were able to perfect the

style and achieve the necessary technical skills to produce

them. Unlike ; owerforms and paperweight vases that took

the glasshouse only a year or two to perfect, lavas evolved

over a ten to twelve year period. Considering the length of

time required to achieve the desired decorative e! ect, it is

surprising that Lava vases, featuring heavy irregular iridescent

gold drippings over a textured dark navy ground, were

produced by Ti! any Furnaces for only two brief periods: circa

1906-1907 and again around 1916.

The extraordinary example in the McConnell collection is

comparable to two vases in the Chrysler Museum (Norfolk,

VA) made at approximately the same time and numbered

2584C and 6529C respectively. The decoration of this piece,

however, is far better de" ned and is of a superior form. It

clearly re; ects the incredible mastery the glassworkers worked

so tirelessly to achieve. Lava vases perhaps best typify the

experimental decorative “accidents” Ti! any constantly urged

his men to attempt. Vases such as this one convincingly

support Louis Ti! any’s claim that his objects were unique and

beautiful works of art, equal to any painting or sculpture.

— Paul Doros

12

Alternate view

12

21 IMPORTANT 20TH CENTURY DESIGN

TIFFANY STUDIOS

“Poppy” Paperweight Vase

circa 1907-1910

favrile glass

engraved 8965D L.C. Ti! any-Favrile Paris Salon

8⅝ in. (21.9 cm) high

6⅝ in. (16.8 cm) diameter

PROVENANCE

Ray and Lee Grover, Naples, FL

Private Midwestern Collection

Sotheby’s New York, December 2, 1989, lot 841

EXHIBITED

La Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris, circa

1907-1910

LITERATURE

Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Louis Comfort

Ti! any and Laurelton Hall: An Artist’s Country

Estate, New York, 2006, p. 122, " g. 204 (for a

closely related example formerly in the collection

of Louis Comfort Ti! any at Laurelton Hall)

Martin Eidelberg, Ti! any Favrile Glass and the

Quest of Beauty, New York, 2007, p. 63 (for two

closely related examples)

$ 25,000-35,000

14

23 IMPORTANT 20TH CENTURY DESIGN22 SOTHEBY’S

Ti! any Furnaces never made paperweights in the

traditional sense. However, around 1900, they

discovered a technique to encase a decoration

between two layers of clear glass. The design

was frequently enhanced by the use of glass

mille" ori—from the Italian mille (thousand)

and % ori (; owers)—and a gold, or orange-gold,

iridescence on the vase’s interior surface.

The glasshouse’s initial attempts to produce

paperweight vases featured basic shapes, simple

designs and an occasional production ; aw.

Louis Ti! any, however, quickly realized that

this technique would be the perfect medium to

express his love of nature, particularly ; owers.

The ga! ers’ skills and inventiveness improved

rapidly, and paperweight vases are among some

of the glassworks’ most artistic creations.

The Poppy paperweight vase (lot 14) exempli" es

the heights of the ga! er’s abilities. The graceful

baluster-shaped body, encasing vivid mille" ori-

centered ; owers amongst stylized foliage,

clearly demonstrate the glassmaker’s care in

producing a piece intended for one of the Paris

Salon exhibitions. The Nasturtium vase (lot 13)

is of an unusual shape and thickness that creates

a heightened sense of ; uidity to the internal

decoration.

— Paul Doros

TIFFANY STUDIOS

“Nasturtium” Paperweight Vase

circa 1920-1925

favrile glass

engraved 3599N L.C. Ti! any-Inc. Favrile

5⅞ in. (14.9 cm) high

7⅛ in. (18.1 cm) diameter

$ 15,000-20,000

13

13 14

17

TIFFANY STUDIOS

“Cypriote Peacock” Vase

circa 1897-1899

favrile glass

engraved L.C.T./F2919 and with " rm’s paper label

14⅜ in. (36.5 cm) high

PROVENANCE

D. Leonard and Gerry Trent, New York, 1987

LITERATURE

Paul E. Doros, The Art Glass of Louis Comfort

Ti! any, New York, 2013, p. 170 (for a related

example)

$ 10,000-15,000

The peacock was one of Louis Ti! any’s favorite

decorative motifs, and he incorporated it into the

full range of his work, from leaded glass windows

to jewelry. He was obviously intrigued by the

vivid iridescent blue, purple and green sheen

of the bird’s feathers. The peacock was also

particularly well suited to church decorations.

It was a symbol of immortality to the ancient

Romans, as they believed its ; esh did not

decay after death. The early Christians readily

adapted this symbolism. To them, the peacock’s

shedding of its feathers each year and growing

newer, more resplendent plumage represented

the resurrection of Christ.

Peacock-decorated Favrile vases were " rst

displayed at the company’s Fourth Avenue

showrooms in the early spring of 1897, and

the timing was entirely due to marketing

considerations. Several New York City

newspapers, probably given the information by

Ti! any himself, reminded the public that the

peacock was symbolic of Christ’s resurrection,

and these vases would make an ideal gift for

Easter.

This particular vase comes from that initial stage

of production and its pockmarked Cypriote

exterior surface makes it highly unusual.

— Paul Doros

25 IMPORTANT 20TH CENTURY DESIGN24 SOTHEBY’S

15

TIFFANY STUDIOS

Paperweight Vase

circa 1900-1903

favrile glass

engraved V477 L.C. Ti! any-Favrile

5¼ in. (13.3 cm) high

PROVENANCE

Ray and Lee Grover, Naples, FL, 1983

LITERATURE

Norman Potter and Douglas Jackson, Ti! any,

London, 1988, p. 45 (for a Ti! any paperweight

vase with similar decoration)

$ 12,000-18,000

16

TIFFANY STUDIOS

“Cypriote” Vase

circa 1920-1925

favrile glass

engraved 5-8791N L.C. Ti! any-Favrile

6¼ in. (15.9 cm) high

$ 6,000-8,000

15

16

17

27 IMPORTANT 20TH CENTURY DESIGN26 SOTHEBY’S

18

19

2220

21

19

TIFFANY STUDIOS

Decorated Vase

circa 1909-1910

favrile glass

engraved L.C. Ti! any-Favrile 5146E

7⅞ in. (20 cm) high

$ 5,000-7,000

20

TIFFANY STUDIOS

Monumental “Flowerform” Vase

circa 1900-1903

favrile glass

engraved L.C.T. W2420

19¼ in. (48.9 cm) high

$ 10,000-15,000

21

TIFFANY STUDIOS

“Flowerform” Vase

circa 1898-1900

favrile glass

engraved L.C.T. R9983

9⅞ in. (25.1 cm) high

ILLUSTRATED

Art Nouveau Glass: A Connoisseur’s Collection,

exh. cat., Georgia Museum of Art, The University

of Georgia, Athens, GA, 1984, no. 10

$ 8,000-12,000

18

TIFFANY STUDIOS

“Rosewater Sprinkler” Vase

circa 1909-1910

favrile glass

engraved L.C. Ti! any-Favrile 4682E

14⅜ in. (36.5 cm) high

$ 8,000-12,000

TIFFANY STUDIOS

A Rare Covered Jar

circa 1898-1902

enameled copper

engraved Louis C. Ti! any, impressed TIFFANY

STUDIOS/NEW YORK/9150/5 and with

the Ti! any Glass and Decorating Company

monogram

9¾ in. (24.8 cm) high

6⅛ in. (15.6 cm) diameter

LITERATURE

Janet Zapata, The Jewelry and Enamels of Louis

Comfort Ti! any, London, 1993, p. 70 (for a

discussion of other Ti! any enamel wares from

the same numbered series)

John Loring, Louis Comfort Ti! any at Ti! any &

Co., New York, 2002, pp. 100-101 (for a related

enameled vase numbered 9150/4)

Alastair Duncan, Louis C. Ti! any: The Garden

Museum Collection, Woodridge, Su! olk, 2004,

pp. 412-413, 420 and 430 (for related examples)

$ 15,000-20,000

22