Images(3)

Tiffany

Object NamePunch Bowl and 44 Cups in the "Tiffany" Pattern

Cutter John S. Earl (English, 1837-1912)

Gaffer John Lofquist (Swedish, 1874-1918)

Manufacturer(blanks) Union Glass Company (Somerville, MA, 1851-1927)

Retailer Tiffany and Company (1837-present)

Made FromLead Glass

Date1904

Place MadeUnited States, MA, Somerville (glass); United States, NY, Brooklyn (cutting); United States, NY, New York City (retailed)

TechniqueBlown, cut, polished

Size(ab) Punchbowl H: 73.7 cm, Diam (max): 66 cm, Th: 2.5 cm; (1-44) Individual Cups H: 8.9 cm; Diam (max): 6.3 cm

Accession Number2017.4.12

Credit LinePurchased in part with funds from the Eastern Lakes Chapter of the American Cut Glass Association and the Twin Tiers Glass Collectors Group

Curatorial Area(s)

Modern

On ViewCrystal City Gallery

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

This is the largest American cut glass punch bowl in existence. Nearly 50 pounds of glass was cut away to create a 30-gallon-capacity showpiece. John S. Earl needed 210 days to cut it, and a system of pulleys was required to bear the weight of the massive blanks. Earl, who had worked for J. Hoare & Company in Corning for 12 years before opening his own shop in Brooklyn, used two blanks (the stand and the bowl are separate) made by John Lofquist and his 15-man team at the Union Glass Company. The punch bowl was made for Tiffany and Company in 1904 and retailed for $3,000. Until recently, the bowl was thought to have been lost until it was discovered in the attic of the home of its original owner, William M. Wood, director of the American Woolen Company, a textile conglomerate.

Physical DescriptionPunch Bowl and 44 Cups in the "Tiffany" Pattern. Colorless lead glass; blown, heavily cut. (a) Bowl is nearly spherical, cut pattern featuring repeat of hobstars and rayed stars, prism cuts, notch-cuts, with a notched cut rim. (b) Base flares out and down from a heavy circular collar to eight scallops with notches and hobstar and diamond cutting to match bowl. (1-44) Forty-four colorless glass punch cups; blown, cut, polished. Slightly flaring cylindrical shape with cut star in bottoms of base and band hobstars with fans between faceted criss-crosses.
Provenance

Source John McInnis Auctioneers - 2017-11-13
Saturday, October 28, 2017, Lot. 438

Former Collection WIlliam M. Woods (American, 1858-1926) - 1904-1926
This punch bowl was purchased from Tiffany & Co. by William M. Woods (American, 1858-1926). Woods suffered from poor health, and was afflicted with a stroke shortly after the death of his son, William Woods, Jr. in 1923. Woods Sr. committed suicide in 1926, and it s believed that the punch bowl has been relegated to the attic of one of the Woods family homes until the death of a family descendant last December. At that time, heirs of the estate decided to sell the property, which included many objects like Tiffany Studios lamps. According to John McInnis Auctioneers, Provenance: The One Hundered Room Mansion, "Woodstock," Beverly Farms, MA, which is now demolished.

Former Collection Tiffany and Company (1837-present)