Tiffany’s 19th-century Audubon design inspires flights of fancy
Friday, July 31st, 2009Brooches of gemstones and lacquer inspired by Tiffany’s 19th-century Audubon design
Photo credit: © Tiffany & Co.
From Top: diamond, amethyst, tsavorite, yellow sapphire and lacquer brooch set in 18k yellow gold; diamond, tsavorite, spessartite and lacquer brooch set in 18k yellow gold.
Tiffany & Company introduces the beautiful Audubon design pattern in 1871. It still ranks as Tiffany’s best selling Audubon design to this day 137 years later. The Audubon design was inspired by 19th century Japanese nature paintings. Tiffany & Co. now sells over 15 different Audubon design patterns aside from their top selling Audubon collection.
Many of Tiffany jewelry designs and pieces have made their way into museum collections around the world. The first of which was a Copper, Silver, and Niello Tiffany pitcher that the Boston museum of fine arts acquired in 1873. Other museums that have acquired Tiffany pieces include the Morse Museum, the Met (the metropolitan museum of art), and many museums nationwide and overseas that include Japan and Britain. The Met collection includes earrings, brooches, vases, and others that range from 1854 to the 1900’s.