Macklowe Gallery Decorative Arts

In this exquisite covered bottle designed by Samuel Schellink for Rozenburg, a dynamic viper is depicted in an aggressive, poised stance. Its head is raised and swaying rhythmically,...

A Tiffany Studios New York "Jeweled Tulip Ball" desk lamp with favrile glass shade and patinated bronze base. The base features a long swing arm culminating in a single iridescent tu...

This refined pair of caged lantern sconces features leaf-shaped backplates adorned with elegant palmette hooks. The heat caps are encircled by a decorative frieze of flame-like palme...

This French Art Nouveau gilt bronze and glass lantern chandelier by Hector Guimard, features glass panels of blue-green and amethyst, framed by gilt bronze whiplash designs. This stu...

This exquisite Daum Nancy ‘Coloquinte’ Flacon (perfume bottle) combines a dazzling array of techniques. The body of the vase uses the intercalaire technique, whereby green, yellow oc...

A French Art Nouveau lithograph "La Tige, Moulin Rouge" by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The work, as with many of Lautrec’s crayon lithographs, is imbued with a spirit of tongue and ch...

This Tiffany Studios New York 'Geometric' plafonnier features a captivating shade composed of geometric glass tiles that transition from warm amber to soft white, culminating in a pa...

Argy-Rousseau’s Libations vase presents two portraits of women carrying wine jars, each modeled on a different character in Cleopatre. One side of the vase depicts the ballerina Lubo...

The "Belted Turtleback" Chandelier by Tiffany Studios New York is a refined study in monochromatic expression. Separated into three distinct tiers, the conical lamp shade offers a ma...

The gilt bronze base of this French Art Nouveau boudoir lamp, by Edouard Colonna, has a charming, voluptuous vegetal motif that mimics the appearance of a careful arrangement of turn...

In Tiffany Studios' exquisite "Nautilus" table lamp, a cast bronze mermaid emerges from a churning sea, holding a lighted nautilus shell aloft. This lamp, one of the few patented by Tiffany Studios, received its patent on May 2, 1899, and was featured in Siegfried Bing’s landmark Louis Comfort Tiffany exhibition at the Grafton Galleries. The mermaid base was sculpted by Louis Gudebrod, the only lamp base artist credited by Tiffany Studios. The nautilus shell motif, prominent in European decorative arts of the 17th century, originated from Dutch ships that transported the shells from the South China Sea, some 15,000 miles away. These shells showcased the Dutch Republic's global mercantile strength, and Dutch painters often featured them in still-life works—many of which are now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection. Inspired by this artistic tradition, Tiffany transformed the iridescent shell into a table lamp. The shell softened and modulated the light, similar to the effect of Tiffany's Favrile glass shades, creating a warm glow reminiscent of the gas lighting familiar to the era. Item #: L-21744 Artist: Tiffany Studios New York Country: United States Circa: 1899 Dimensions: 17.5" height, 4.75" width, 8" deep. Materials: Nautilus shell, Bronze Base Signed: GUDEBROD and Tiffany Studios New York Literature: Alastair Duncan, "Tiffany Lamps and Metalware", Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2007, pg. 86, fig. 336. Macklowe Gallery Curator's Notes: The shape of the exotic nautilus, found in the western Pacific, has long been the muse of architects, artists, and designers. One only has to look to Grecian columns, to spiral staircases, or to the nautilus cups of the sixteenth century for examples. Louis Comfort Tiffany's glass interpretation of the "Nautilus" shell design was first displayed at the Paris Exposition Universelle 1900, where he was displaying the best lamps that he had to offer. By bringing this intricate and difficult-to-make model to the World's Fair, Tiffany was showing the international design world just how well-made and beautiful a Tiffany Studios New York lamp...

Tiffany Studios was renowned for transforming everyday household objects into works of art. This tea screen, while functional in shielding the flame beneath a teapot, was conceived p...