Flower-Shaped Vase

About this artwork

Research in Progress

Art Historical Context

Louis Comfort Tiffany’s “Flower-Shaped Vase,” created around 1906, reflects the artist’s lifelong fascination with nature and organic form. An American designer celebrated for elevating decorative arts, Tiffany often translated floral motifs into elegant, functional objects that blurred the line between sculpture and utility. This glassware piece, now part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection, captures that impulse in miniature. Although details of its exact technique remain under study, the vase belongs to a period when Tiffany’s studio was exploring new ways to shape and color glass, producing works prized for their luminous surfaces and naturalistic contours. Its flower-like silhouette invites viewers to consider how everyday vessels could become celebrations of natural beauty during the height of the American Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau movements. Acquired through a museum purchase made possible by Georgiana L. McClellan, the vase offers today’s visitors a quiet window into Tiffany’s enduring influence on American design. Its presence in the Smithsonian reminds us that even small objects can embody an artist’s larger vision of bringing art into daily life.