It may be ugly, but it’s a treasure from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. A silver loving cup made by Tiffany & Company for the World’s Fair was brought in for appraisal on Antiques Roadshow Season 28 Episode 20 “Vintage Madison 2024, Hour 1” on PBS. The sterling silver cup is decorated with enameling embedded with turquoise and other stones.
The owner inherited the vase from a family member who lived near the Midway Plaisance in Chicago, though admitted that she thought it was ugly. While appraiser Ronald Bourgeault of Bourgeault-Horan Antiquarians agreed, he also found the piece “absolutely spectacular.” He valued the cup at $50,000 to $100,000 back in 2009. By 2024, it has appreciated to $100,000 to $150,000. “But, it still ugly,” confesses the shocked owner.
This sterling silver love cup was one of many decorative silver pieces displayed by Tiffany & Company inside their pavilion in the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building. Several spectacular pieces from this display at the 1893 World’s Fair have sold at auction in recent years, including a silver monumental flagon in 2022, a yachting trophy and a coffeepot in 2020, and a clock in 2019.
The sterling silver “love cup” displayed in the Tiffany & Co. exhibit at the 1893 World’s Fair can be seen on the left side of the top shelf of this photograph. [Image from Illustrated American May 20, 1893.]