Visible or “open” art storage galleries are located on the second floor of Alumni Memorial Hall, in the Albertine Monroe-Brown Study-Storage Gallery, and in the Education Center on the lower level of the new Frankel Wing, adjacent to the Helmut Stern Auditorium.
Designed to give visitors visual access to hundreds of objects in close proximity, the Open Storage Galleries reveal the wide range of UMMA’s collections of nearly 19,000 objects.
Nearly one thousand objects from the collections are presented in secure, well-lit, glass-fronted cabinets—providing ample opportunity for close viewing and visual comparison, as well as the thrill of slipping behind the scenes into a private treasure house of art.
Areas of special depth on view in the Open Storage Galleries include Chinese and Korean ceramics, Chinese snuff bottles and netsuke, Indian bronzes, Arts and Crafts ceramics, and art glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Henry and Lousine Havemeyer were active collectors of the hand-made, iridescent glass made by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Tiffany had been making leaded windows since the late 1870s, but only began to make blown-glass vessels in the early 1890s—not long after he designed the interior of the H.O. Havemeyer house in New York. Tiffany’s term for this opulent glasswork was Favrile (derived from the Old English word fabrile, meaning “handmade”); he obtained a patent for the richly colored and iridescent Favrile glass in 1894. Working with Tiffany to select outstanding pieces, the Havemeyers amassed an impressive collection of Tiffany’s Favrile glass; much of it was donated by the family to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Nearly all of the Tiffany glass in the University of Michigan’s collection was purchased at auction in 1930 by Emil Lorch.
Louis Comfort Tiffany Vase iridescent blue, silver and yellowish-green glass 7 1/8 x 4 3/16 x 4 3/16 in. (18 x 10.5 x 10.5 cm);7 1/8 x 4 3/16 x 4 3/16 in. (18 x 10.5 x 10.5 cm) University purchase 1930, transferred to the Museum of Art, 1972/2.202
Louis Comfort Tiffany Vase blue iridescent glass with purple striations 11 3/16 x 4 3/8 x 4 3/8 in. (28.4 x 11 x 11 cm) University purchase 1930, transferred to the Museum of Art, 1972/2.224
Louis Comfort Tiffany Bowl iridescent green glass 2 5/16 x 4 3/4 x 4 3/4 in. (5.8 x 12 x 12 cm);2 5/16 x 4 3/4 x 4 3/4 in. (5.8 x 12 x 12 cm) University purchase 1930, transferred to the Museum of Art, 1972/2.213
Louis Comfort Tiffany Vase iridescent blue and green glass 6 1/2 x 3 x 3 in. (16.5 x 7.6 x 7.6 cm);6 1/2 x 3 x 3 in. (16.5 x 7.6 x 7.6 cm) University purchase 1930, transferred to the Museum of Art, 1972/2.211
Louis Comfort Tiffany Vase iridescent blue, silver and yellowish-green glass 6 3/4 x 3 3/16 x 3 3/16 in. (17 x 8 x 8 cm);6 3/4 x 3 3/16 x 3 3/16 in. (17 x 8 x 8 cm) University purchase 1930, transferred to the Museum of Art, 1972/2.203
Louis Comfort Tiffany Vase iridescent orange, yellow and blue glass 6 5/16 x 3 1/8 x 3 1/16 in. (16 x 7.8 x 7.7 cm);6 5/16 x 3 1/8 x 3 1/16 in. (16 x 7.8 x 7.7 cm) University purchase 1930, transferred to the Museum of Art, 1972/2.212
Louis Comfort Tiffany Vase glass with gold luster 9 5/16 x 3 7/8 x 3 7/8 in. (23.5 x 9.8 x 9.8 cm);9 5/16 x 3 7/8 x 3 7/8 in. (23.5 x 9.8 x 9.8 cm) University purchase 1930, transferred to the Museum of Art, 1972/2.218
Louis Comfort Tiffany Miniature vase iridescent gold and pink glass 2 3/8 x 2 7/16 x 2 7/16 in. (5.9 x 6.1 x 6.1 cm);2 3/8 x 2 5/8 x 2 7/16 in. (5.9 x 6.6 x 6.1 cm) University purchase 1930, transferred to the Museum of Art, 1972/2.210
Louis Comfort Tiffany Miniature vase 1896 – 1900 iridescent gold and pink glass University purchase 1930, transferred to the Museum of Art, 1972/2.210 1972/2.210
Louis Comfort Tiffany Vase opalescent glass with gold and red oxide 6 1/16 x 3 9/16 x 3 9/16 in. (15.3 x 9 x 9 cm);6 1/16 x 3 9/16 x 3 9/16 in. (15.3 x 9 x 9 cm);x 11 3/8 in. x 28.8 cm University purchase 1930, transferred to the Museum of Art, 1972/2.214