Love Cup

This cup was one of many "Saracenic"-style wares exhibited by Tiffany at the 1889 Paris Exposition. The design refers to Indian sources, particularly periodicals discussing the country’s textiles and architecture, and the form relates to the shape of the Asian elephant’s hooves and tusks. The double peacock vignettes decorating both sides of the cup are executed in enamel, niello, and acid etching. A review of Tiffany’s display at the Paris fair remarked that the combination of niello and enamel "has never been done more skillfully, and . . . the workmanship has achieved a degree of excellence never before attained." The quality and tonal gradations of the jewel-like enamels also enjoyed popular and critical acclaim, securing Tiffany the fair’s grand prize for silverware.