Vintage Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co. Cobalt Blue Murano Glass Heart Paperweight, c.1980, Original Box

Details

Description

c.1980 · In original Tiffany & Co. presentation box · Italy

Presented in its original robin's-egg blue Tiffany & Co. … Read more c.1980 · In original Tiffany & Co. presentation box · Italy

Presented in its original robin's-egg blue Tiffany & Co. box, this luminous cobalt blue Murano glass heart is a quintessential expression of Elsa Peretti's lifelong design philosophy: the union of pure organic form with exquisite Italian craftsmanship. A rare and complete example in remarkable condition.

About the designer

Born in Florence in 1940, Elsa Peretti became one of the most celebrated and influential designers in Tiffany & Co.'s 180-year history. A former fashion model who moved among Halston's circle in 1970s New York, she joined the House in 1974 and over nearly five decades transformed fine jewelry and decorative objects with a radical formal vocabulary drawn entirely from the natural world — bones, calla lilies, beans, and the perennial heart.

"I don't make art objects; I make things for everyday life."

Peretti rejected the rigid geometry and overt opulence that dominated mid-century luxury design. Instead, she pursued biomorphic forms that felt almost archetypal — shapes the hand already knows. The result was a body of work simultaneously sensual and restrained, now held in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Museum of Arts and Design. Peretti passed away in Sant Martí Vell, Spain in 2021, having sold the rights to her designs to Tiffany & Co. for $1, ensuring their legacy endured. Her influence on the decorative arts of the late 20th century is without peer.

The heart object

First introduced as a wearable pendant in the 1970s, the Peretti Heart soon transcended its origins to become one of the most universally recognised forms in modern decorative arts. Its asymmetric, biomorphic silhouette — neither sentimentally symmetrical nor clinically anatomical — captures something essential about emotional experience. In hand-blown cobalt blue Murano glass, the form gains additional resonance: the deep saturated colour shifts with the light, lending the sculpture an almost breathing quality. On a windowsill or shelf it becomes something between jewellery, sculpture, and talisman.

A note on Murano glass

The glassblowing traditions of Murano — a cluster of islands in the Venetian lagoon — stretch back to 1291, when the Venetian Republic ordered all glassmakers to relocate there to protect the city from fire and, crucially, to guard centuries of closely-held trade secrets. For over 700 years, Murano's maestri have refined techniques — sommerso (submerged colour layers), filigrana (latticework canes), millefiori (thousand flowers) — that remain unmatched anywhere in the world. In the mid-20th century Murano experienced a celebrated renaissance as international designers and artists collaborated directly with the island's historic furnaces. Tiffany & Co.'s engagement with Murano artisans for Peretti's sculptural objects placed this ancient Venetian craft in direct conversation with New York's avant-garde luxury.

Object details

Designer
Elsa Peretti (1940–2021)
Maker
Tiffany & Co.
Origin
Murano, Venice, Italy
Circa
1980
Materials
Hand-blown cobalt blue Murano glass
Condition
Excellent — no chips, cracks, or repairs
Provenance
In original Tiffany & Co. box
Category
Decorative Object / Sculpture See less