Cedar Berry

While working in Louis C. Tiffany’s enamel department, Alice C. Gouvy created dozens of watercolor studies directly from nature. The goal was to observe beauty and, through these studies, depict elements that would translate well into relief decorated vessels at Tiffany Furnaces (1902–20). The velvety iridized enamels, then being produced at the furnaces, could ideally relay the subtle tones of color captured from life.

Gouvy’s berry-laden evergreen is a rich analysis of the variations of greens, blues, and browns found in nature. The strong branch supports leaves of muted greens to olive yellows bent and turned to convey the living outgrowths in their natural state. Central to the study are the berries—from bluish green to purple—each expressing a sense of the waxy gray surface characteristic of the species.

Labeled as Cedar Berry, the evergreen bough in this study is a part of the juniper family. Juniperus virginiana is native to the eastern United States and is commonly known as Eastern red cedar because of its reddish heartwood. The waxy blue berries are used as a pungent spice for cooking but are best known for providing the distinctive flavor to gin.