Tiffany Studios New York "Turtleback" Double Inkstand

Crafted by Tiffany Studios in New York, this bronze and Favrile glass double inkstand features eleven iridescent gold Turtleback glass panels along with two gold Favrile glass inkwell inserts. A central drawer, equipped with a ring pull, includes a primary compartment for holding pen nibs and seals, as well as a smaller lower drawer that opens sideways to store pounce—a fine powder used for paper preparation and ink absorption. Additionally, the interior of its hinged lid is outfitted with three rows of cup hooks to hold various dip pens.
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Category: Metalwork New Acquisitions Tiffany Objects Tiffany Studios New York ‎
Product Details

Item #: T-22441
Artist: Tiffany Studios New York
Country: United States
Circa: 1910
Dimensions: 4.5" height, 8.75" width, 3.875" depth.
Materials: Favrile Glass, Bronze
Signed: inkstand impressed TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK; glass liner engraved L.C.T.
Literature: J. Loring, Louis Comfort Tiffany at Tiffany & Co., New York, 2002, p. 202 H. F. McKean, The “Lost” Treasures of Louis Comfort Tiffany, New York, 1980, p. 230, fig. 227 A. Duncan, Louis C. Tiffany: The Garden Museum Collection, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2004, p. 354 D. A. Hanks, Louis C. Tiffany: Treasures from the Driehaus Collection, exh. cat., Richard H. Driehaus Museum, Chicago, 2013, p. 161 (for a related model) A. Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2019, p. 480, no. 1934 Timeless Beauty, The Art of Louis Comfort Tiffany, The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, Atglen, PA, 2016, p. 177

Item #: T-22441
Artist: Tiffany Studios New York
Country: United States
Circa: 1910
Dimensions: 4.5" height, 8.75" width, 3.875" depth.
Materials: Favrile Glass, Bronze
Signed: inkstand impressed TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK; glass liner engraved L.C.T.
Literature: J. Loring, Louis Comfort Tiffany at Tiffany & Co., New York, 2002, p. 202 H. F. McKean, The “Lost” Treasures of Louis Comfort Tiffany, New York, 1980, p. 230, fig. 227 A. Duncan, Louis C. Tiffany: The Garden Museum Collection, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2004, p. 354 D. A. Hanks, Louis C. Tiffany: Treasures from the Driehaus Collection, exh. cat., Richard H. Driehaus Museum, Chicago, 2013, p. 161 (for a related model) A. Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2019, p. 480, no. 1934 Timeless Beauty, The Art of Louis Comfort Tiffany, The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, Atglen, PA, 2016, p. 177

Curator's Notes
The hinged cover is framed by a border of gadrooning, a decorative treatment consisting of repeating convex, fluted forms. Together with the inkstand’s rounded bun feet, this ornament recalls the richly carved cassoni, or Italian Renaissance marriage chests, which frequently incorporated gadrooned moldings and substantial rounded feet. Such chests were avidly collected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its patrons during the early twentieth century, of which Louis Comfort Tiffany was part of. By adapting these Renaissance furniture conventions to a compact desk accessory, Tiffany Studios united historical ornament with the innovative use of Favrile glass, transforming a utilitarian writing instrument into an object of considerable decorative refinement.
The hinged cover is framed by a border of gadrooning, a decorative treatment consisting of repeating convex, fluted forms. Together with the inkstand’s rounded bun feet, this ornament recalls the richly carved cassoni, or Italian Renaissance marriage chests, which frequently incorporated gadrooned moldings and substantial rounded feet. Such chests were avidly collected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its patrons during the early twentieth century, of which Louis Comfort Tiffany was part of. By adapting these Renaissance furniture conventions to a compact desk accessory, Tiffany Studios united historical ornament with the innovative use of Favrile glass, transforming a utilitarian writing instrument into an object of considerable decorative refinement.
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