Design for square mosaic panel

Tiffany attributed his interest in mosaics to the bejeweled Byzantine churches he visited during his travels. In this design for a mosaic panel, the lack of pictorial imagery and the use of strong geometry, vivid colors, and an ogee arch border suggest a further Islamic influence. The large squares central to this design imply the inclusion of Tiffany’s iridescent Favrile glass turtleback tiles, or perhaps semitransparent glass backed with metallic foil. Such innovations set Tiffany’s mosaics apart from those of his contemporaries.