The Magnolia Vase was Tiffany and Company's most prominent silver entry at the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Native and Latin American sources inspired the form, which was derived from Pueblo pottery, and the ornament for the handles, which relates to Toltec artifacts. Plant motifs represent various sections of the United States: pine typifies the North; magnolia, the Southeast; and cacti, the Southwest. Standing for the whole country and applied in gold is the ubiquitous goldenrod.