Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Tea and Coffee Set
Not on view
Tiffany began producing designs inspired by Japanese art in the early 1870s, well before American tastes for such wares had reached its peak. The lively compositions of birds midflight and perched upon branches on this tea service closely relate to a flatware pattern called "Japanese" that Moore patented in 1871. These early Japanesque designs typically include asymmetrical arrangements of birds, fish, and foliage applied to traditional Western forms. The service’s textured surface was achieved by submerging the vessels in an acid bath that eroded the gilding to create what Tiffany termed a "pearl" finish. This design and its related flatware pattern remained popular among Tiffany’s clients into the early twentieth century.
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