Design for Fern and Daisy Perfume Bottle No. 2661

Art Historical Context

This delicate drawing from the 1870s captures Tiffany and Company’s meticulous approach to luxury design. Created as a preparatory study for perfume bottle No. 2661, titled “Fern and Daisy,” the work combines black and sepia ink with pencil and touches of red ink on tan wove paper. Its modest size—just under six inches square—belies the careful attention given to every curve and detail, revealing how the firm translated natural motifs into elegant glass and metal forms for the American market. Dating to the years just after the Civil War, the design reflects the Victorian fascination with botanical ornament and the growing demand for refined personal accessories. Tiffany and Company, already renowned for silver and jewelry, used such drawings to guide production, ensuring that even small objects like perfume bottles embodied high standards of craftsmanship and visual harmonyPreserved today in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Prints and Drawings collection, this sheet offers visitors a rare glimpse behind the scenes of nineteenth-century luxury manufacturing. It reminds us that beauty in everyday objects often begins with patient, precise lines on paper.