Louis C. Tiffany & Co., Associated Artists
3" x 3" x 3/8" each. c. 1880s
Tile Heritage Collection
Gift of Marion Wilmot



Louis C. Tiffany & Co., Associated Artists

Brooklyn, New York

Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933), renowned for his beautiful stained glass windows and exotic glass lamps and shades, initially studied under Andrea Boldini at the Heidt glasshouse in Brooklyn. Experiments in glassmaking began there in the early 1870s before Tiffany founded his first company, Louis C. Tiffany & Co., Associated Artists, in 1878. The only objects that this company produced in quantity were glass tiles for screens, sconces, walls and fireplace facades.

"Tiffany glass tiles were made of 'pot metal' glass usually poured into open molds. Various colors and consistencies of opalescent glass were blended in the molten state and then poured to achieve a swirl effect in each tile. The molds were squares, one, two, three, or four inches to the side and at most a half-inch deep. There were several patterns, including a five-petal rosette, dragon, Chinese design, jewel, and random punch. Many of the square three-inch tiles have the inscription 'Pat. Feb. 8th 1881 L.C.T. & Co.'"

"During the 1880s a great number of these tiles were made at the Heidt glasshouse in Brooklyn. Glass tiles were an important feature of many of the interiors decorated by Tiffany. All Tiffany tiles, even the unmarked ones, are easy to authenticate since, unlike most other Tiffany products, they were never imitated."

From Louis C. Tiffany's Glass Bronzes Lamps by Robert Koch (New York, Crown Publishers, Inc., 1971)



To view past Tiles of the Month, click here!

Back to THF Home page