1855 Antique Tiffany & Company Compote /Edward C. Moore Neo-Greek Doré Bronze Goddess Athena Tazza on Stand

Description

Antique doré bronze footed tazza in the Greek Revival style popular from the 1830s throughout the 1860s and executed in … more Antique doré bronze footed tazza in the Greek Revival style popular from the 1830s throughout the 1860s and executed in the manner of French bronze maker and caster Ferdinand Barbedienne.

The tazza is decorated with symbols of the Greek Goddess Athena. A profile of Athena is at center framed with a guilloche border and an outer anthemion border. The outer ring features three heads of Medusa upon aegises with pairs of cherubs. Classical motifs abound with acanthus leaf arabesques bursting from flaming torches and ending in dragon heads, urns overflowing with fruit, and the previously mentioned design elements.

The makers mark on the bottom of the foot indicates tazza is from Tiffany and Company, is pattern number 0101, order number 5958, and was crafted under the direction of Edward C. Moore as indicated by the style of the "M" included in the stamp.

The pattern number 0101 indicates a design first conceived about 1855, probably influenced by Moore's experiences in viewing and sketching the Classical metal and ceramic objects in Paris museums in 1855 and the Classical tazzas created by Barbedienne with Louis-Constant Sévin.

Edward C. Moore learned silversmithing in his father's shop which came to be named John C. Moore & Son.

In 1851, Tiffany, Young, and Ellis, which later became Tiffany & Co., secured an agreement to be the exclusive retailer for silver made by the Moores.

In 1868, the Moore firm merged with Tiffany in exchange for cash and shares and Edward became the artistic director and secretary of Tiffany & Co.

Edward Chandler Moore was influenced throughout his career by antiquities from Greece, Rome, India, Arabia, Persia, China, and Japan. He bought and sold many items for his collections over the years which helped him establish inspirational design archives for Tiffany and open educational opportunities for designers and artisans. After his death in 1891 Moore's collection was gifted to The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Tazza will complement your collection of bronzes by Ferdinand Levillain, Ferdinand Barbedienne, Louis-Constant Sévin, and Émile Louis Picault. less