'Paperweight' Vase, circa 1902

Tiffany Studios began exhibiting paperweight objects around 1900, and very quickly Louis C. Tiffany realized that the technique provided ample creative possibilities to celebrate the natural world. This revelation drove experimentation and inventiveness in a technically difficult process, and this early example is an elegant and large example of the model. The vase’s iridescent interior dramatically sets off the fluidity and depth of the design of stylized ivy dotted with blush millefiori. Although Tiffany’s ‘paperweights’ bore some similarity to the mid-19th century tradition from which they grew, the artistry and inventiveness pushed the Tiffany paperweights beyond their European predecessors.