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Tiffany & Co. Aquamarine and Blue Enamel Brooch by Louis Comfort Tiffany
$19,500
Created around 1910, this diminutive Louis Tiffany brooch is composed of aquamarine, enamel and 18K gold. The oblong bombé form with rounded corners centers a cushion-shape aquamarine framed by flaring wirework panels of creamy opalescent blue plique-à-jour enamel, accented by azure circles and teal spandrels. A gorgeous harmony of subtle blues, green and gold, this delicate and luminous handmade brooch dates from early in Louis Tiffany's important and original collaborative explorations of the art of jewelry.
- Product Details
- Curator's Notes
Item #: BO-21177
Artist: Louis Comfort Tiffany for Tiffany & Co.
Country: United States
Circa: 1910
Dimensions: 0.825" length x 1.00" width
Materials: 1 cushion-cut aquamarine; 18K Gold; Enamel
Signed: TIFFANY & CO, with possible scratched production no., J or T ?278
Literature: A pillow shaped filigree brooch numbered J1374 and dated circa 1910 is pictured in Louis Comfort Tiffany at Tiffany & Co., by John Loring, p. 48.
Louis Tiffany's chief collaborator in this earlier period was Julia Munson. Munson was skilled in both the jeweler's art and in design, and was entirely supportive of Louis' mission to transform the practices and aesthetic of jewelry around 1900. Thus, she was completely in his confidence during the years in which he conducted his first secret jewelry experiments in the atelier of the family mansion on Madison Avenue and 72nd Street. In his book Louis Comfort Tiffany at Tiffany & Co., John Loring examined early archival jewelry production photographs, suggesting a meaning for the numbering system found on some designs. "J" was thought to indicate the work of Julia Munson, while "T" possibly indicated Thomas Winship (see page 38.) Loring also speculates that the delicate plique-a-jour enamels were the "invention" of Dr. Thomas McIlhiney, Columbia professor and glass master. Subsequent archivist and Tiffany expert Janet Zapata has suggested that further archival research would be beneficial.