Chased by Eugene J. Soligny (American, c. 1833–1901) Tiffany and Company (American, founded 1837) New York
About this artwork
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 (1996.15.1-2) 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.
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.
Marked on bottom: TIFFANY AND CO. (in a convex rectangle) / 3180 / Quality 925.1000 (in rectangle)/ M (in oval) / 5200/ UNION SQUARE (in convex rectangle)
Marked on underside of one foot: No. 1
Engraved on proper left side of base: EJ (conjoined) S
Dimensions
Each: 77.4 × 43.2 cm (30 1/2 × 17 in.)
Credit Line
Purchased with funds provided by the Antiquarian Society through the Mr. and Mrs. William Y. Hutchinson Fund
Reference Number
1985.221.1-2
IIIF Manifest
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“The Universal Exhibition at Vienna,” The Art Journal 12, no. 140 (1873): 245, 252 (ill.).
Charles H. Carpenter and Janet Zapata, The Silver of Tiffany & Co., 1850–1987, exh. cat. (Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, 1987), cat. 7a–b (ill).
Milo M. Naeve, et al., A Decade of Decorative Arts: The Antiquarian Society of The Art Institute of Chicago, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 1986), 90–92, cat. 68 (ill.).
Charles L. Venable, Silver in America, 1840–1940: A Century of Splendor, exh. cat. (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1995), 64, 330, fig. 3–19 (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), 220–23, cat. 103.
John Loring, Magnificent Tiffany Silver (Harry N. Abrams, 2001), 124–5.
Judith A. Barter, Elizabeth McGoey, et al., American Silver in the Art Institute of Chicago (Yale University Press, 2016), cat. 54 (ill.).
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, The Silver of Tiffany & Co., 1850–1987, Sept. 9–Nov. 8, 1987, cat. 7a–b.
Dallas Museum of Art, Silver in America: A Century of Splendor, 1840–1940, Nov. 6, 1994–Jan. 29, 1995, cat.; Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Art, Mar. 12–May 21, 1995; Milwaukee Art Museum, June 13–Aug. 13, 1995; Delaware, Winterthur Museum, Sept. 9, 1995–Jan. 7, 1996.
Viscount d’Itajubá (1805-1884); by descent to Baron von Jenisch of Hamburg (d. 1985) by 1985; with Sotheby’s, 1985, lot 19; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1985.
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