Of all the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) exhibits I have seen (I have seen quite a few), “Collecting Inspiration” is the most perfectly titled. That title may seem vague to some, but “collecting inspiration” was exactly what I thought of upon entering the vast purple maze filled with memorabilia from almost all seven continents hidden in the far left corner of the Met. Whose enormous collection of inspiration was this? The answer is Edward C.
Moore, the silversmith who was the driving force of success for Tiffany & Co. in the latter half of the 19th century. Moore worked for Tiffany & Co.
at its very start, creating beautiful pieces of silverwork like dining ware, pistols and extravagant yachting competition trophies. Apparently, Tiffany & Co. of the late 1800s wasn’t too interested in jewelry.
This exhibit featured over 70 other silver creations by Tiffany & Co. under Moore’s creative direction and over 180 items from Moore’s personal art collection. That is to say, Moore owned more than 180 pieces of international decorative art, which made me wonder how big his house was.
At first, the exhibit appeared like a simple hallway with dark purple walls, a few vases and knick-knacks on display. A huge portrait of Moore hung in the entryway. I was surprised to find that at the end of the first hallway was the entrance to another, and then another, and too many more to keep track.
To get through the whole display took around two hours. Each section was organized ba.