The Metropolitan Museum has one of the most comprehensive and historically important collections of blown Favrile glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany. However, the gift of two superb vases immeasurably enhances it. Both epitomize Tiffany's goal to produce one-of-a-kind works that expressed his personal aesthetic. Each has a coloration of gold with an iridescent surface, and yet each is treated in a markedly different way. One vase (1999.412.1) is unusually large and is a prime example of Tiffany's passion for depicting nature. An arrangement of leaves and stems is displayed fluidly over the body. The other vase (1999.412.2) exhibits entirely abstract decoration, achieved by the varying surfaces of crusty, deep chocolate brown (akin to those on Tiffany's Cypriote glasses) contrasted with smooth, rich iridescent gold; the overall design undulates in a manner that brings to mind the prevailing Art Nouveau style.

Like the Museum's other holdings of Favrile vessels (originally owned by Tiffany or by the H. O. Havemeyers), the larger of the two vases has a significant provenance. It was exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900 and was owned by Tiffany's sister, Mrs. Alfred Mitchell, of New Haven.