Presentation Vase

As New York’s preeminent silversmith, Tiffany received numerous commissions for presentation silver—pieces made to honor an individual or achievement—which allowed Moore and his team to push their creativity to new heights. This large vase celebrates Lewis May and his twenty-five years as president of Congregation Emanu-El in New York. It prominently features Jewish iconography as part of an original composition of arabesques and symbolic floral motifs, including citrons, pomegranate, cedar pinecones, ferns, and ivy. A commemorative publication states that the vase’s style was intended to echo both the architecture of the ancient Temple of Jerusalem and the congregation’s house of worship, which was located on Fifth Avenue at Forty-Third Street and is depicted in the central engraving.