Tiffany Studios
American (firm active 1902-1932)
Jack-in-the-pulpit vase, c. 1902-1910
Favrile glass
Private Collection

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Shaped like a slender stalk and open blossom, this glass vase designed by the American glass master Louis Comfort Tiffany was inspired by the Jack-in-the-pulpit plant. Tiffany described its shimmering surface in his 1880 patent application: "The effect is a highly iridescent one of pleasing metallic luster produced by forming a film of a metal or its oxide either by exposing the glass to vapors or gases or by direct application."

Tiffany called his new type of blown glass "Favrile," a word derived from the Old English fabrile, meaning handwrought. Favrile wasn't the only unusual glass technique developed by Tiffany. He also experimented with a porous, rough-textured version of Favrile glass that resembled volcanic lava. This iridescent glass was the most abstract of all his glass types and one of his favorites.