page_title: Paulding Farnham
section_title: 1889 Paris Exposition
hierarchical_section_title: Paulding Farnham / Career at Tiffany and Co. / 1885–1890 / 1889 Paris Exposition
caption_attribution_description: Orchid brooches designed by Paulding Farnham for the 1889 Paris Exposition. Clockwise from top: 1. Odontoglossum 2. Angraecum eburneum 3. Cattleya bicolor. Credits This composition of the PD drawings was created by User:Froggerlaura.
context_page_description: George Paulding Farnham was an American jewelry designer, sculptor and metallurgist that worked for Tiffany & Co. in the late 19th and early 20th century. Farnham married American sculptor Sally James Farnham in 1896. After leaving Tiffany & Co. in 1908, Farnham focused his interests on developing mining properties in British Columbia. He divorced Sally Farnham in 1915 and moved to California, where he died in 1927.
context_section_description: The Exposition Universelle was held in Paris from May 6 to October 31, 1889 and coincided with the 100th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille during the French Revolution. Farnham created approximately 24 life-size orchids composed of enamel, silver and green gold that were accented with pearls and gemstones. The flowers were created by molding unannealed silver into the exact shape of the flower in life and coating the form in specially blended and prepared shades of enamel. The enamel designs were adapted from Charles Moore’s Orientalist Saracenic silverware patterns. Farnham's collection received a gold medal in the jewelry division at the Exposition. In the report of the United States Commission to the Exposition, the orchid brooches were called "one of the most striking features of the entire Exposition." The Paris Herald praised the collection for its "boldness and originality of design" and the Jeweler's Circular complemented Farnham "to whose genius the [United States] is indebted." Other jewelry pieces had design patterns that were reminiscent of basket-weaving patterns utilized by various Native American tribes, including the Sioux, Navaho and Inuit cultures. After the Exposition in 1890, Farnham designed more varieties of the orchid brooches for the private market that were sold at the New York store.
caption: Orchid brooches exhibited at 1889 Paris Exposition, clockwise from top: Odontoglossum sp., Angraecum eburneum and Cattleya bicolor.
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