Tiffany Saracenic Motifs

Edward Moore and the Saracenic Movement

One of Edward Moore's two big passions at Tiffany & Company was the Saracenic designs which incorporated  Islamic influence into the objects. One of the plants that he liked to use was the Sumak plant. Here are some of the pieces we have found recently. The first item is a cylindrical spot hammered pitcher with Sumak plants highlighted with acid etched leaves to give extra dimension against the hammering. You could have found this exact form of pitcher decorated with Japanese influenced designs or Saracenic designs.

Tiffany Saracenic Sterling Hammered Pitcher

Tiffany Japanese Influenced Sterling Hammered Pitcher

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Tiffany Antique Sterling and Mixed Metals Pitcher

Tiffany Mixed Metals Antique Sterling Pitcher

In the late 1800s Edward Moore at Tiffany & Company produced a line of Japanese influenced hollow ware and flatware at the same time as Tiffany's Saracenic line of wares. The attention to detail and the quality was so remarkable that it left a legacy that sets it apart from other American manufacturers. 

I once asked a collector why he was so fascinated with these pieces of Japanese influenced silver that were executed according to strictly controlled guidelines in drawings with numbers that dictated the very size of the faceting of the spot hammering and he answered that he liked the idea of an American who might well have been chewing tobacco in the studio making these pieces that frightened the Japanese with the level of sophistication and purity.

Thirty five years ago I opened my first catalog from Christies as newcomer and could not believe my luck that I had found my passion. Nowhere is the world can one find this quality and uniqueness.

The pitcher photographed here as applied brass and copper oak leaves joined by engraved tendrils. The surface retains a textured satin finish applied at the factory in the 1880s and has not been polished. This is seldom the case. Tiffany made two different sizes of these pitchers, the larger size is 8" tall and the smaller 7 1/4".

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Dominick and Haff 1881

Dominick and Haff 1881

How many times have you tuned over an interesting piece of Dominick and Haff silver and found the date 1881 in the mark. This was obviously the year that the company really could do nothing wrong. Dominick & Haff, a silver manufacturing company in New York had some of the best silversmiths in the country working on the most innovative designs and techniques of this period.

Recently this large hand hammered arts and crafts candle holder popped up on the market and we could not believe the scale of it. It is over 12 inches tall and is hand hammered in the arts and crafts style. The bizarre head that forms the terminal looks very much like an Eastern man in the moon face with a pony tail. The feet are all hand hammered and curl up at the ends.

The candle is held in place with a spring.

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Coins on a silver tray

An English Silver Tray set with Three Pence Pieces

An unusual English silver hexagonal tray came up in the United Kingdom with hundreds of applied three pence silver coins from the Victorian era. Some of the coins have a young head of Queen Victoria, and others have a older Jubilee head of the Queen with her small diamond crown that she had made for herself later in life.

The use of coins in silver can be found all over the work from the Shreve hand hammered silver of San Francisco to the early French silver wine tasters.

This tray however makes quite a splash and is big enough to put a tea set on.

Below see the pictures of the hexagonal English silver tray by Martin and Hall with a detailed photo of the coins applied.

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American sterling nutmeg grater Tiffany & Company

An American Sterling Nutmeg Grater

Tiffany and Company

1902-1907

We see very many English Antique vinaigrettes and nutmeg graters but not that many American nutmeg graters. Kirk was a serious manufacturer of these boxes and every now and then we see a Tiffany nutmeg grater. Nutmeg was a prized spice sought after and used frequently by individuals. This is a Tiffany melon shaped nutmeg grater, an unusual form and it is very well constructed with a quality hinge and considerable thickness. The inserted grate was usually made of steel.
The mark includes a C mark which helps us date the item to 1902-1907.

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Tiffany antique sterling nutmeg grater

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Whiting antique sterling pitcher by Charles Osborne

Tiffany or Whiting?

Take a look at this superb antique sterling silver pitcher. At first glance it looks very much as if it could be a Tiffany pitcher but the marks are Whiting. This is probably the work of Charles Osborne, one of Tiffany & Company's most talented designers who worked for the Whiting Company as well. He used acid etching, spot hammering and chasing to achieve this fabulous design. There is also some inlaid copper in the design around the neck.

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Rare Unmarked Gorham Sterling Tea Caddy with Mixed Metals Applied

Rare Unmarked Gorham Sterling Tea Caddy with Mixed Metals Applied

This rare sterling spot hammered antique tea caddy was made by the Gorham Company in about 1880 but was never marked. It has a monogram on the base. The detail is quite amazing with applied silver and copper the highlight of which is a large applied spider with copper body. Surprisingly manufacturers omitted their marking quite often for different reasons. One reason was that the retailers liked to put their marks on the pieces and claim credit for the items. 

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Gorham antique sterling and mixed metals tea caddy with spider