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Louis Comfort Tiffany was one of the great masters of American arts and crafts design. With the resources of Tiffany & Co., the jewelry firm founded by his father Charles Lewis Tiffany, and led by his own less commercial and more artistic aesthetic, Tiffany combined gemstones and metalwork in fresh and exciting ways. Working closely with the company’s gemologist George Frederick Kunz, Tiffany often created garland frames to highlight rare and exceptional gemstones like this one. Black opals were first discovered at Lightning Ridge in New South Wales, Australia in 1877, and this is a particularly large and spectacular example. Suspended from a gold chain, the opal is entwined by a meandering gold vine; the open back reveals the matrix rock the gem was found in.
View: Front
Necklace
American
About 1910
Medium/Technique
Black opal, demantoid garnet, sapphire, gold
Dimensions
Length: 59.7 cm (23 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
William Francis Warden Fund
Accession Number2017.1328
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Necklaces and neck bands
Louis Comfort Tiffany was one of the great masters of American arts and crafts design. With the resources of Tiffany & Co., the jewelry firm founded by his father Charles Lewis Tiffany, and led by his own less commercial and more artistic aesthetic, Tiffany combined gemstones and metalwork in fresh and exciting ways. Working closely with the company’s gemologist George Frederick Kunz, Tiffany often created garland frames to highlight rare and exceptional gemstones like this one. Black opals were first discovered at Lightning Ridge in New South Wales, Australia in 1877, and this is a particularly large and spectacular example. Suspended from a gold chain, the opal is entwined by a meandering gold vine; the open back reveals the matrix rock the gem was found in.
DescriptionNecklace with a large black opal pendant with a sculpted gold grapevine surround that is enhanced by circular-cut demantoid garnets and sapphires. The pendant's reverse also features a gold garland around the grey-blue matrix of the opal. The long gold chain alternates between a double-strand chain, with demantoid garnets and sapphires, and gold grapevine details.
Marks
Tiffany & Co.
ProvenanceBy 1990s, Collection of Louis C. Tiffany Garden Museum, Matsue, Japan; 2011 or 2012, sold to private collector; June 20, 2017, sold at Christie's to the MFA (sale 14760, lot 128). (Accession Date: June 21, 2017)