Pitcher

While Moore’s library and collection provided ample inspiration, he also fueled his creativity by engaging with New York’s community of craftspeople and artists. Charles Grosjean, the superintendent of the silver workshop, wrote in his diary about a visit he and Moore made to the New York cabinetmaker Herter Brothers. The entry suggests that the design of peeled pomegranates amid a field of lush foliage on this pitcher may have been inspired by a carved cabinet seen at the shop. Like Tiffany, Herter Brothers was known for innovative and ambitious designs, and the two firms collaborated on bespoke furnishings inset with decorative metal plaques for some of their most esteemed clients, including Mary J. Morgan, a voracious early collector of Asian decorative arts.