What’s Hot in NYC - The Tiffany Collection at Metropolitan Museum

Tiffany & Co is an iconic brand, and when one hears of Tiffany you may think of the Tiffany Heart, Tiffany Diamond Ring, Breakfast at Tiffany’s & Tiffany jewellery but what is really interesting is the artist Louis Comfort Tiffany whose careers spanned from the 1870s through the 1920s. He was one of America’s most acclaimed artists, and embraced virtually every artistic and decorative medium, to produce extraordinary stained glass windows, mosaics, lighting, glass, pottery, metalwork, enamels, Tiffany jewellery and interiors.

As the son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, founder of Tiffany & Co, Tiffany began his career as a painter, who then turned his attention to decorative arts and interiors. His first significant interior design project was for his 1878 top-floor home at the Bella Apartments on 48 East 26th Street in New York City where he designed a beautiful leaded-glass window for the entrance hall. He was a pioneer in stain glass artistry and experimented with new types of glass to achieve a more varied palette with richer hues and greater density. One of his finest pieces of work was the Magnolias and Iris based on the  motif—the River of Life which depicts magnolias composed of opalescent drapery glass and it demonstrates Tiffany’s ability to paint with glass.

 

Tiffany also had a natural talent to design jewellery and was knowledgeable about jewellery trends through art periodicals, international exhibitions and, of course, his father's firm, Tiffany & Co to which he was appointed art director upon his father's death in 1902. Tiffany's jewellery garnered attention and press by the art critics of the period. His use of semiprecious gemstones with enamel and handcraftsmanship made him a leader in experimenting in jewellery designs and enamelled jewellery. This can be seen in the Tiffany necklace composed of black opals that depict grapes and the enamaling around which relate to leaves in brightly coloured greens and gold. The semiprecious gemstone Tiffany necklace was believed to be given to his nurse and later companion Sarah E Hanley and this piece of vintage jewellery is on show at the Metropolitan Museum.

 

One of our favourite pieces of Tiffany jewellery designed by Louis was the dragon fly hair combs. This season, hair accessories and in fact accessories in general are leading the way in the fashion world. However, to find a piece as well designed with such intricate detailing will not be so easy. Tiffany designed the hair ornament for Louisine Havemeyer an avid Tiffany client. It epitomises nature, flowers wild fruit and again shows his skill for enamel jewellery and semi precious gemstones – vintage jewellery at it’s finest!

 

A personal favourite, which the photo does not do it justice, is the moonstone and sparkling Montana saphire Tiffany necklace set in platinum. The necklace could be worn with the pendant or as a choker.

So if you are in New York, and you happen to have time to visit the Metropolitan Museum, for our jewellery lovers, we recommend you go and see the Tiffany Collection as there are some truly inspiring vintage jewellery pieces on display.

Written by Rosie May Reddington