Pair of Wine Coolers

1873

Chased by Eugene J. Soligny (American, c. 1833–1901)
Tiffany and Company (American, founded 1837)
New York

Executed in the “neo-grec” style, this suite of silver was commissioned by the United States government and presented to Viscount d’Itajubá of Brazil in gratitude for his role in arbitrating grievances between the United States and Great Britain after the American Civil War. It was the first of three identical suites made by Tiffany and Company, as indicated on each piece by the “No. 1” stamped on the underside. Figures and symbols decorating these objects represent ancient Greek themes. The handles on the punch bowl (1985.221.3) portray Dionysus, the god of wine, and the wine coolers depict facemasks of Silenus, a woodland god and Dionysus’s constant companion. The full-figure, chased plaques on the wine coolers represent Agriculture and Commerce and were meant to symbolize the continued stability and prosperity of the United States after the Civil War.

Status: On View, Gallery 171
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Tiffany and Company (Manufacturer)
Title: Pair of Wine Coolers
Place: New York City (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1873
Medium: Silver
Inscriptions: Marked on bottom: TIFFANY & CO. (in convex rectangle) / 2963 / Quality 925.1000 (in rectangle) / M (in oval) /5200/ UNION SQUARE (in convex rectangle) Marked on underside of one foot: No. 1.
Dimensions: Each h: H.: 35 cm (13 3/8 in.)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Antiquarian Society
Reference Number: 1996.15.1-2
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/144349/manifest.json

“The Universal Exhibition at Vienna,” The Art Journal 12, no. 140 (1873): 245, 252 (ill.).
Seth Thayer, “Acquisition of the Geneva Tribunal Testimonial Completed by the Art Institute of Chicago,” The New York Silver Society Newsletter 1, no. 2 (Spring 1996): 128 (ill.).
Judith A. Barter, et al., American Arts at The Art Institute of Chicago: From Colonial Times to World War I (Art Institute of Chicago, 1998), 220–223, cat. 103 (ill.).
John Loring, Magnificent Tiffany Silver (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001), 124–5.
Judith A. Barter, Elizabeth McGoey, et al., American Silver in the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016), cat. 56 (ill.).
Elizabeth McGoey, ed., American Silver in the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2018), https://publications.artic.edu/americansilver/reader/collection/section/6, cat. 56 (ill.).

Vienna, Austria, Vienna International Exposition, May 1–Oct. 31, 1873, cat.

Viscount d’Itajubá (1805-1884); by descent to Baron von Jenisch of Hamburg (died 1985) by 1985; with Sotheby’s, 1985, lot 19. Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert, Los Angeles, by 1996; with Christie’s, 1996, lot 91; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1996.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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