Saracenic Coffee Pot and Sugar Bowl

Description

This coffee pot, with its spherical base, narrow neck, and elongated spout, is based on Islamic vessels. Tiffany and Company first incorporated Islamic elements into their wares at the Paris Universal Exposition in 1867. Edward C. Moore, the chief silver designer, drew inspiration from his own collection of Middle Eastern art objects and design books, appropriating such elements as thin, sinuous forms and intricate, repeating patterns. The undersides of these objects are engraved Florence Pullman, a Chicagoan who was the daughter of George Pullman of the Pullman Car Company, which was famous for labor strikes by workers and the formation of the first African American labor union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

Provenance

Florence Pullman (1868-1937), Chicago (m. Frank Lowden (1861-1943) in 1896) by 1896; with Sotheby's New York, June 26-27, 1991, lot 68; Iris Schwartz (1921-2011), New Jersey, until 2017; with Sotheby's New York, by 2017; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, Sale N09606, The Iris Schwartz Collection of American Silver, January 20, 2017, lot 3036.

Saracenic Coffee Pot and Sugar Bowl

Tiffany and Company

1895

Accession Number

238832

Medium

Silver and silver gilt

Dimensions

Coffee Pot: 23.5 × 16.1 × 8.5 cm (9 1/4 × 6 3/4 × 3 3/4 in.); Sugar Bowl: 6.6 × 9.8 × 10.1 cm (2 5/8 × 3 7/8 × 4 7/8 in.)

Classification

decorative arts

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Mary Swissler Oldberg Fund