Favrile glass is a type of iridescent

art glass Art glass is a subset of glass art, this latter covering the whole range of art made from glass. Art glass normally refers only to pieces made since the mid-19th century, and typically to those purely made as sculpture or decorative art, with ...

developed by

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...

. He patented this process in 1894 and first produced the glass for manufacture in 1896 in Queens, New York. It differs from most iridescent glasses because the color is ingrained in the glass itself, as well as having distinctive coloring. Tiffany won a grand prize at the

1900 Paris Exposition The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developmen ...

for his Favrile glass. Tiffany used this glass in the stained-glass windows designed and made by his studio. His largest and most significant work using Favrile glass is ''Dream Garden'' (1916), commissioned by the

Curtis Publishing Company The Curtis Publishing Company, founded in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became one of the largest and most influential publishers in the United States during the early 20th century. The company's publications included the ''Ladies' Home Jour ...

for their headquarters in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and designed by

Maxfield Parrish Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. His career spann ...

. It is now owned by the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

History

Tiffany founded his first glassmaking firm in 1892, which he called the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company. The factory, Tiffany Furnaces, was located in

Corona, Queens Corona is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It borders Flushing and Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to the east, Jackson Heights to the west, Forest Hills and Rego Park to the south, Elmhurst to the southwest, and East ...

, New York.Lehmann 1918, p. 115 It was managed by English immigrant Arthur J. Nash, who was skilled in glassmaking. It was here that Tiffany developed his unique method of

glassmaking Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass. Glass container ...

: treating molten glass with metallic oxides that were absorbed into the glass and created a luxurious iridescent surface effect. Tiffany worked to develop this new glass after being strongly influenced by his 1865 trip to Europe. In

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

he visited the South Kensington Museum, later renamed the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, whose extensive collection of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and Syrian glass made a deep impression on him. These included iridescent glass. He also admired the coloration of medieval glass and believed that he could improve on the quality of contemporary glass. After much experimentation and development, he received the patent for Favrile glass in 1894.Duncan 2003, p.19 He made the first Favrile objects in 1896.Tutag & Hamilton 1987, p. 152 At the

, Tiffany's Favrile glass won the grand prize in the exposition.Burlingham 2002, p. 89

Design

Favrile is different from other iridescent glasses because its color is not just on the surface, but part of the glass.Von Drachenfels 2000, p. 275 The original

trade name A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

, ''Fabrile'', was derived from an

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

word, ''fabrile'', meaning "hand-wrought" or handcrafted.Hesse 2007, p. 100 Tiffany later changed the word to ''Favrile'', "since this sounded better".Warmus 2001, p.68 Some of the distinguishing colors in Favrile glass include "Gold Lustre," "Samian Red," "Mazarin Blue," "Tel-el-amarna" (or Turquoise Blue), and "Aquamarine".Lehmann 1918, pp. 117-118

Uses

Favrile was the first art glass to be used in stained-glass windows. Tiffany planned to make patterns in windows based on the shapes and color of his glass. Favrile glass also backs a large ornamental clock in Detroit's

Guardian Building The Guardian Building is a landmark skyscraper in the United States, located at 500 Griswold Street in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Financial District. The Guardian is a class-A office building owned by Wayne County, Michigan and ser ...

.Tutag & Hamilton 1987, p. 137 The largest and most significant glass-mosaic produced with Favrile glass is likely the ''Dream Garden'' (1916), commissioned for the

's headquarters in Philadelphia. Artist

designed the work, and Tiffany Studios executed and installed it. The work is now owned by the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

."Dream Garden"
on ''USHistory.org''

Notes

References

* * * * * * * *

External links

''Louis Comfort Tiffany and Laurelton Hall: An Artist's Country Estate''
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on favrile glass {{Glass makers and brands Glass art Glass types Tiffany Studios