Covered Bowl
Not on view
This bowl likely was part of a tea set, serving as a "waste bowl," which is a receptacle for cold tea and dregs from teacups. It is marked "Tiffany, Young & Ellis" and "J.C.M," indicating it was made by John C. Moore and his son Edward and retailed by the stationery and fancy goods store Tiffany, Young & Ellis. Founded in 1837 as Tiffany & Young and later renamed Tiffany & Co., Tiffany, Young & Ellis was a prominent purveyor of imported and domestic luxury goods, including fine silver. Initially, the firm retailed silver made by different silversmiths. In order to secure strategic advantage over their competitors, they negotiated an exclusive agreement with the New York silversmiths John C. Moore & Son in 1851, ensuring they would be the sole retail outlet for the Moores’ silver. Tiffany, Young & Ellis recognized in John C. Moore and his son and partner, Edward C. Moore, exceptional skill and artistic vision, and Edward became the creative force behind Tiffany & Co.’s unparalleled originality and success during the second half of the nineteenth century. The bowl’s finely chased repoussé blossoms and sinuous scrolls are characteristic of John and Edward Moore’s work around the time Tiffany, Young & Ellis secured the exclusive contract. The lively composition and subtly executed details exemplify the qualities that attracted enthusiastic patrons and presage the inventive silver Edward C. Moore would produce at Tiffany in the ensuing decades.
