RZM Fine Arts and Antiques Inc: Ask the Appraiser

Greetings to you Jon. I inherited this glass vase from my grandmother’s estate well over 40 years ago. I know it has to be old because I can remember it as a child being at her apartment. The family story is that she received this vase as a gift from her wealthy employer in the 1920s. It is so beautiful to look at when the light illuminates through it. It stands 18 inches in height and is in perfect condition. I know from reading your past articles that antique glass items can not have any cracks or chips. I’ve closely examined it, no damage. This vase does have some faint writing on the bottom, that unfortunately cannot be read. Can you please inform me how old this vase may be and perhaps its value? I’m at the point in my life that I’ve decided to substantially downsize and may want to sell it. I may ask for your assistance in helping me to sell it, if it has any real value.

The item that you are inquiring about is an American Art Glass “Jack-in-the-Pulpit” style vase, produced during the Art Nouveau period. The good news that I have for you is that the acid etched marking on the base “LCT” is for Louis Comfort Tiffany. Yes, that Tiffany! Which is about as good as it gets when it comes to American art glass. What you possess is a superb and rare “Jack-in-the-Pulpit” flower formed gold luster Favrile glass vase, circa 1905. Favrile glass was invented by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) and Arthur Nash (1849-1934), in the late 19th century. Tiffany patented this process in 1894 and first produced this art glass for manufacture in 1896 at Tiffany Studios in Corona Queens, New York. Favrile glass is different from other iridescent glass because its color is not just on the surface but is actually part of the glass. This iridescent glass has the actual colors incised from within. Tiffany used this same glass in the renowned stained-glass windows designed and made by his studio, that realize five figures when they are offered at auction. This type of art glass was so magnificent that Louis Tiffany was awarded The Grand Prize for his Favrile glass at the Paris Exposition of 1900 and the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. This in turn put Tiffany on the map for his beautiful Art Nouveau glass and related decorative accessories. Now able to compete against the important European art glass factories such as Rene Lalique and Emile Galle. I have even more positive information to share with you about this vase. The typical Jack-in-the-Pulpit Favrile glass vases we normally encounter range in size between 10 – 14 inches in height. Your larger size vase, measuring 18 inches in height is quite rare… bigger is better respecting art glass. Now for the answer you’ve been anxiously awaiting, how much is my vase worth?  If in fact it is in “excellent” condition, as you have indicated, the current value for your Tiffany Studios Jack-in-the-Pulpit Favrile art glass vase is $12,000 USD. A similar vase recently sold at one of the major New York auction houses for that amount. Advanced art glass collectors would certainly be delighted to put such an extraordinary vase into their collection. A word of caution. Please continue to handle this vase with the utmost care. As one tiny chip or crack will devalue this very fragile, extraordinary piece of art glass tremendously. Thank you for sharing this rare item with us.