Butter Dish
Tiffany & Company
Object Label
These two silver dishes, made in New York a generation apart, were both designed to serve butter at the dining table in an upper-middle-class household. Although both have highly decorated surfaces, the Tiffany dish appears more modern to the contemporary eye. This is due to the narrative linear decoration and the simple, bold geometry of the silhouette, both inspired by the Aesthetic Movement of the 1870s and 1880s, which looked to the arts of Japan.
Caption
Tiffany & Company (American, founded 1853). Butter Dish, 1870–1875. Silver, 5 x 7 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. (12.7 x 18.4 x 18.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Lisa M. Price, by exchange, 2006.5a-c.
Maker
Title
Butter Dish
Date
1870–1875
Geography
Place made: New York, New York, United States
Medium
Silver
Classification
Dimensions
5 x 7 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. (12.7 x 18.4 x 18.4 cm)
Markings
Impressed on bottom of Base: "TIFFANY & Co / 3744 MAKERS 3878 / STERLING SILVER / 925-1000 / M" Engraved in tiny numerals to right of TIFFANY & Co: "631" Scratched on bottom: "42" Impressed on bottom of Drainer: "3744 / 3878"
Credit Line
Gift of Lisa M. Price, by exchange
Accession Number
2006.5a-c
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