Tiffany & Co.
An Antique American Moonstone & Lapis Lazuli Ring, c. 1923
New York
J6403
Platinum set with central oval cabochon moonstone flanked and backed by lapis lazuli, stamped Tiffany & Co. Current approximate size: 9. This piece was designed by Meta K. Overbeck, the...
Platinum set with central oval cabochon moonstone flanked and backed by lapis lazuli, stamped Tiffany & Co. Current approximate size: 9.
This piece was designed by Meta K. Overbeck, the head of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s workshop from 1914 until it closed in 1933 following Louis’s death. Louis had first shown his jewelry in 1904, and in 1907 his distinctive “Art Jewelry” was brought within the fold of his late father’s firm while still being made in his own separate workshop, which was run by Julia Munson. It was identified in the Tiffany Blue Books as “Tiffany Art Jewelry”. After 1915 the jewelry was called “Tiffany Jewelry - Special” in the Blue Books, no doubt reflecting transition from the Arts & Crafts style to Overbeck’s more abstract geometric designs. The combination of platinum, moonstone and lapis appears in many of Overbeck’s jewelry designs.
A drawing for this piece is included in Overbeck’s Jewelry Design book of 1914-33, now in the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, Winter Park, FL. See “Bejewelled by Tiffany”, p. 247. The piece is identified as “F5387/B55760/size 9”; the prefix “F” indicating a design by Overbeck. A bracelet with code “F5349” dates to about 1923, hence our date (“Bejewelled” p. 151, no. 131).
This piece was designed by Meta K. Overbeck, the head of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s workshop from 1914 until it closed in 1933 following Louis’s death. Louis had first shown his jewelry in 1904, and in 1907 his distinctive “Art Jewelry” was brought within the fold of his late father’s firm while still being made in his own separate workshop, which was run by Julia Munson. It was identified in the Tiffany Blue Books as “Tiffany Art Jewelry”. After 1915 the jewelry was called “Tiffany Jewelry - Special” in the Blue Books, no doubt reflecting transition from the Arts & Crafts style to Overbeck’s more abstract geometric designs. The combination of platinum, moonstone and lapis appears in many of Overbeck’s jewelry designs.
A drawing for this piece is included in Overbeck’s Jewelry Design book of 1914-33, now in the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, Winter Park, FL. See “Bejewelled by Tiffany”, p. 247. The piece is identified as “F5387/B55760/size 9”; the prefix “F” indicating a design by Overbeck. A bracelet with code “F5349” dates to about 1923, hence our date (“Bejewelled” p. 151, no. 131).