$14,220
Fine Tiffany & Co. Sterling Fruit Bowl with Bacchante Handles, 1875-91, attributed to Eugene J. Soligny, round, the rim heavily cast with fruiting grapevines, and with high relief handles formed as the busts of a male and female Bacchic jester, body with ribbon-wrapped reeded girdle, the slightly domed foot with running acanthus band at rim, monogrammed, ht. to 6 1/4, wd. to 12 3/4 in., approx. 54 troy oz. Note: This bowl, with its highly detailed, sculptural bacchante handles, bears a striking resemblance to punch bowls from the three garnitures commissioned by the U.S. government c. 1873 for presentation to the three arbitrators of the Alabama reparations claim case. The design of these suites has been attributed to one of Tiffany's most celebrated designers and chasers, Eugene J. Soligny (1832-1901). One of the punch bowls is in the collection of The Art Institute of Chicago, and another was sold at Sotheby's on January 18, 2008. The bacchic heads on those bowls, and on this bowl, are unmistakably similar. Soligny was also involved in the design of some of Tiffany & Co.'s most reknowned showpieces, including the Comanche Trophy of 1873, and the Bryant Vase of 1875/76. Provenance: Monogrammed EBO for Ella Belzer Ottmann, daughter of Emily Belzer and Jacob Ottmann. This bowl was likely a present on the occasion of her marriage to Bernard Setzer on June 24, 1896 in New York City. Jacob Ottmann was a prominent German-American businessman who founded the J. Ottmann Lithogr Read more…
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2010-04-10
