Pitcher

Acquired at the 1876 Centennial Exposition, this pitcher represents Tiffany’s new line of chromatically decorated silver utilizing mixed-metal techniques. It became the first piece of American silver to enter the Museum’s collection and distinguished the institution for its early interest in contemporary, as well as historic, art. Former Boston jeweler Gideon F. T. Reed, who was then a major shareholder in Tiffany & Co. and head of its Paris office, engaged Frank Hill Smith to select and acquire metalwork for the Museum from the Philadelphia fair. Despite an acknowledged conflict of interest, this pitcher became the first piece of Tiffany silver to enter a museum collection. And although the designer of this pitcher is unknown, a Tiffany drawing of this vessel, dated April 29, 1875, indicates that it was “pitcher no. 4065, [made from] four pieces, [with a] handle made of plate.”

This text has been adapted from "Silver of the Americas, 1600-2000," edited by Jeannine Falino and Gerald W.R. Ward, published in 2008 by the MFA. Complete references can be found in that publication.