Tiffany & Co. Olympian Pattern Silver

04/27/2022     Furniture & Decorative Arts

 

NEW YORK, NY -- Olympian pattern was the vision of Tiffany & Co.’s talented designer Edward C. Moore, the man responsible for some of the late 19th century’s most beautiful flatware patterns. Introduced in 1878 at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, the pattern was a tour de force showcasing America’s dominance in silver design.

Olympian pattern arrived just in time to meet the excesses of dining in the Gilded Age. Flatware services could comprise hundreds of pieces used by society in the rituals of the dinner party – there was no better way to confirm who was “in” than formal dining where novices could be outed by their improper use of a cocktail fork!

Olympian was the most complex of all the flatware patterns Tiffany & Co. ever produced with the front and reverse of each piece covered in pictorial decoration. In fact there are seventeen different subjects used on the pieces according to the size of the handles, each depicting scenes from Greek mythology. Olympian pattern was also the most expensive of Tiffany & Co.’s flatware patterns commanding a 35% premium to their popular English King pattern with the overall cost being well over twice the cost of the silver used in each piece.

The Daniel and Joanna Rose Collection
The Daniel and Joanna Rose Collection includes a variety of Olympian pattern flatware and hollowware collected over a lifetime with great passion and care. Extensive flatware services range from settings for eight to eighteen including rare place pieces. Serving pieces from asparagus tongs, carving sets, cheese scoops, and pastry servers have dinner parties covered from start to finish. Hollowware was made to match many of the Tiffany & Co. flatware patterns, and among the rarities in the Collection are a pair of Olympian pattern wine coolers and a punch bowl..

American Silver
Auction Tuesday, May 4, 2022 at 10am
Exhibition April 30 - May 2

Featured in the auction of American Silver is an extensive offering of Olympian pattern silver from The Daniel and Joanna Rose Collection.