Our Tiffany Peacock Feather Ballpoint Pen was inspired by Louis Comfort Tiffany's (American, 1848-1933) iridescent glass vase produced by Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company in 1900. The piece stylises the "eye" of the peacock feather with rich iridescent hues that gradate to a light blue surrounding the eyes. Tiffany was often compelled by the natural world, and this particular motif was used in some of his most important architectural commissions and ornamental vessels. The Museum's pen is based on this peacock feather motif from the original vase.
Silver overlay with printed lacquer. Black ink. 5 1/4''L.
Silver overlay with printed lacquer. Black ink. 5 1/4''L.
- Silver overlay with printed lacquer
- Black ink
- 5 1/4''L
A master of many media, Louis Comfort Tiffany (American, 1848-1933) was one of America's most noted decorative artists at the turn of the century. Son of the founder of Tiffany and Company of New York, he began his career as a painter, but moved quickly to interior decoration and leaded-glass windows, creating innovative types of opalescent glass that radiated deep vibrant hues. Using variations in colour and thickness of glass, he achieved pictorial effects of unsurpassed subtlety and beauty. In the early 1890s, Tiffany developed a method of blending different colours of glass while it was in a molten state, thus achieving subtle effects of shading and texture. He called this type of glass, which was often noted for its iridescence, Favrile glass (from fabrile, an Old English word meaning "hand wrought").