An American sterling silver and ivory tusk flagon, c. 1880, the natural ivory body set with a beveled glass base, silver mountings in a Greek key motif against a stippled ground, the neck also engraved with a wave-like band and scrolling foliage, the handle in the form of a dragon, with curving scaled body, its open mouth resting against the tankard rim, its extended claws gripping the tankard as joins, engraved on the base with presentation inscription C.C.B. from G.C.C. December 1880, base marked Tiffany & Co. 5828 M 7626, (directorship of Edward Chandler Moore, c. 1878), 12.75"h, 7.75"d, 6.75lbs total **NOTE--This silver-mounted ivory tankard is a fine example of Asian influence in Tiffany & Co.'s work, both in choice of material and motifs. Tiffany produced several pieces that incorporated ivory and the same silver dragon mounts, including The Morgan cup, awarded to J. P. Morgan's sloop Volunteer in 1887 (now in the collection of the New York Yacht Club), and a vase flanked by two dragon handles. This tankard also represents the first phase of Tiffany's ivory production, circa 1880-1893, in which the natural beauty of the ivory is emphasized. The tusks are unadorned, except for the intricate and exotically-themed silver mounts. The 1893 Columbian Exposition included a number of tankards, cups and other objects in which the plain ivory, described in exhibition literature as in its "natural state and color," is embellished with ornate mounts. (For illustrations of the two dragon-mounted ivory pieces, see: Charles Carpenter's Tiffany Silver, 1978, p. 175, no. 242 and John Loring's, Tiffany's 150 Years, p. 78. For another plain ivory tankard with silver mounts in the Indian taste, see John M. Blades and John Loring, Tiffany at the World's Columbian Exposition, 2006, p. 35.) (internet source-Christies) Start Price: $15,000.00