This breathtaking feat of ceramic design, monumental in the history of open porcelain, is credited to sculptor Johann Joachim Käendler, a master modeler at Meissen Porcelain Factory from 1733 to his death in 1775.

Marseilles, France was an important center of faience production in the 18th century, with as many as eleven separate factories working at the same time.

The Castelli area of Italy was a major center for ceramic production during the 17th and 18th centuries. The pieces made there were almost entirely decorative works, and were part of a final revival of Italian majolica, a type of tin-glazed earthenware.

Louis Comfort Tiffany's interest in botany is evident in the iconic, floriform Jack in the Pulpit vase. Formed from a single parison, or mass of molten glass, it features an exuberant flared rim atop a delicate stem and a bulbous base.

Although Louis Comfort Tiffany began his career as a painter, he abandoned painting in favor of decorative arts in the 1870s and became one of America's most important designers at the turn of the century.

Louis Comfort Tiffany was one of America's most important designers at the turn of the century. The glass produced at his Corona Furnace on Long Island was especially famous because of its rich colors, organic shapes, and sinuous decoration.

Louis Comfort Tiffany was one of America's most important designers at the turn of the century. The glass produced at his Corona Furnace on Long Island was especially famous because of its rich colors, organic shapes, and sinuous decoration.

Louis Comfort Tiffany was one of America's most important designers at the turn of the century.

Louis Comfort Tiffany was one of America's most important designers at the turn of the century. The glass produced at his Corona Furnace on Long Island was especially famous because of its rich colors, organic shapes, and sinuous decoration.

Louis Comfort Tiffany was one of America's most important designers at the turn of the century. The glass produced at his Corona Furnace on Long Island was especially famous because of its rich colors, organic shapes, and sinuous decoration.