Amazing historical pieces in silver that commemorate and honor the culture of Native American Indians - Article Written by Greg Arbutine the owner of The Silver Museum
Tiffany Native American Indian Bon Bon Server -
In the late 19th century, Tiffany & Company produced several dozen pieces of sterling silver flatware that had a Native American Indian theme.
Our Silver Museum is fortunate to have acquired this one.
This bon bon server was exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. It weighs 2.25 troy ounces and measure 5.9" long. The depiction of a chief in full dress doing rain dance is simply sublime and worthy of the talented designers and artists at Tiffany and Company whom have produced this extremely rare and historical piece.
The three dimensional detail work on both the front and back of the piece is absolutely exceptional.
See extended version with more photos at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4170352913087128&type=3
The back side of this piece shows the exclusive Tiffany Columbian Exposition back stamp. It has a "T" inside of a globe. Only pieces actually shown at the Columbian Exposition of 1893 have this additional special marking. Typically any pieces that have this additional marking are worth 2-4 times more in value than items without it depending on the pieces.
The Reverse is almost as ornate and pretty as the obverse side.
One can certainly appreciate the hours spent on producing a piece of this high caliber quality and craftsmanship.
History:
Inspired by George Catlin's drawings of Native Americans, the Indian pattern was created in 1884 by prominent silver designer, Charles T. Grosjean. The pattern depicts ritual Native Americans, and every day people such as a warriors, players, and maids. The pattern specifically reflects Tiffany & Company's os incorporation indigenous American elements into their designs, which was a novel approach at the time. - Source Charles Carpenter - Tiffany Silver Page 207-209.
Motifs in the Tiffany Indian/Native American series include: Pipe Dance, Scalp Dance, Medicine Dance, Buffalo Dance, Chief Dance, Slave Dance, Discovery Dance, Club Dance, Discovery Dance, War Dance, Bear Dance, Bow Dance, Coyote Dance
Ebay Search Results
These are images of Tiffany Indian Spoons that we have found on Ebay. There are several variations of dancers and warriors with different headdresses and traditional costumes.
Some of these Tiffany Silver Indian Items are still currently available for sale and average between $1,500- $3,500 per spoon.
Most Rarest of All of Tiffany Indian Themed Flatware
We found this set of 12 Tiffany Sterling Silver mocha spoons on Sotheby's site. The set sold for $44,450 on April 5, 2023
The entire set of 12 contained only 7.60 troy ounces of sterling silver net total for all. That equates to these spoons being worth $5,484.68 per troy ounce!
The current intrinsic metal value of sterling silver is at $23.40 per troy ounce. These sold for 234 times multiples of that! That is simply astounding!
Conclusion: Tiffany Indian/Native American Themed Sterling Flatware Pieces are some of the most rarest of all collectible silver items on the planet.
We would love to hear your comments in the section below!
I would be particularly interested to know if anyone out there knows how many variations of Indians that Tiffany produced.
Thank You, Greg Arbutine
Silver Museum owner
We Buy! We want to purchase silver pieces like the ones shown above! If you have items that you'd like to sell, or even just want to get an idea on valuation
please click the email us button for a quote.
Please send us photos, measurements and item descriptions. Thanks, Greg Arbutine
Silver Museum Owner
I sure hope I can find a Tiffany Indian spoon in the future.
This was an amazing article! Loved it.