Tiffany Studios New York Five-Light Tulip Ceiling Fixture

About the Item

This Tiffany Studios New York "Five-Light" chandelier, features five golden iridescent Favrile tulip shades suspended along with loosely interlocking, heavy circular gilt bronze links. It can be said that Louis Comfort Tiffany’s greatest masterpiece was the grounds of his Long Island garden estate, Laurelton Hall. Along the ground’s mile-long blue gravel drive, Tiffany grew carefully tended beds of tulips. Tiffany so loved the flower that when he designed his studios’ renowned Four Seasons windows, exhibited at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, he chose the tulip to be the symbol of spring. After the completion of Laurelton Hall in 1901, the four seasons windows decorated Tiffany’s living room. The monochrome simplicity of the design makes the ceiling fixture suitable for any low-ceiling room, from a small foyer to an intimate powder room. Product Details: Item #: L-21360 Artist: Tiffany Studios New York Country: United States Circa: 1900 Dimensions: 13.5" diameter, 16.5" height Materials: Favrile Glass, Gilt Bronze Shade Signed: L.C.T. Favrile Macklowe Gallery Curator's Notes: Louis Comfort Tiffany first fell in love with the tulip as a young man during his trips to the near east. While journeying through Algeria, Tiffany learned from his guide the lore and history of the Near East. Tiffany studied the Islamic Arts extensively, which he described as "the finest architecture and ornaments in existence. Among his favorite stories was that of Farhad and Shirin, considered by many to be Persia’s Romeo and Juliet. A lowly stone cutter, Farhad had an unrequited love of the Princess Shirin and wanted to win her heart. Farhad roamed the hills playing songs of love on his flute to Shirin. The villagers, feeling sorry for him conspired for him and Princess Shirin to meet. Princess Shirin was led into the mountain’s forest by her courtesan and when she saw Farhad and heard his music, she fell in love. The sultan was discontent with this turn of events. To prevent Farhad and Shirin’s union, the sultan gave Farhad an impossible task. The sultan commanded Farhad to cut through a mountain and produce a stream. Farhad dug through the mountain for years, all the while meeting with the princess in secret. Just as Farhad was to finish, the sultan sent one of his courtiers to tell Farhad that Shirin was dead. In a fit of despair, Farhad threw himself off the mountain. When Shirin saw Farhad’s dead body, she too took her life, and from each drop of blood upon the earth formed a blood-red tulip.

Creator:
Tiffany Studios (Workshop/Studio)
Dimensions:
Height: 16.5 in (41.91 cm)Diameter: 13.5 in (34.29 cm)
Power Source:
Plug-in
Lampshade:
Included
Style:
Art Nouveau (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze,Glass
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
Early 20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1900
Condition:
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
Seller: L-213601stDibs: LU885439020212
View Invoice

Shop All Tiffany Studios

Tiffany Studios

The hand-crafted kerosene and early electric lighting fixtures created at Tiffany Studios now rank among the most coveted decorative objects in the world. Tiffany designs of any kind are emblematic of taste and craftsmanship, and Tiffany glass refers to far more than stained-glass windows and decorative glass objects. The iconic multimedia manufactory’s offerings include stained-glass floor lamps, chandeliers and enameled metal vases. The most recognizable and prized of its works are antique Tiffany Studios table lamps.

The name Tiffany generally prompts thoughts of two things: splendid gifts in robin’s-egg blue boxes and exquisite stained glass. In 1837, Charles Lewis Tiffany founded the former — Tiffany & Co., one of America’s most prominent purveyors of luxury goods — while his son, Louis Comfort Tiffany, is responsible for exemplars of the latter.

Louis was undoubtedly the most influential and accomplished American decorative artist in the decades that spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rather than join the family business, he studied painting with several teachers, notably the scenic painter Samuel Colman, while spending long periods touring Europe and North Africa. Though he painted his entire career, visits to continental churches sparked a passionate interest in stained glass. Tiffany began experimenting with the material and in 1875 opened a glass factory-cum-laboratory in Corona, Queens — the core of what eventually became Tiffany Studios.

In his glass designs, Tiffany embraced the emerging Art Nouveau movement and its sinuous, naturalistic forms and motifs. By 1902, along with glass, Tiffany was designing stained-glass lamps and chandeliers as well as enameled metal vases, boxes and bowls, and items such as desk sets and candlesticks. Today such pieces epitomize the rich aesthetics of their era.

The lion’s share of credit for Tiffany Studios table lamps and other fixtures has gone to Louis. However, it was actually Clara Driscoll (1861–1944), an Ohio native and head of the Women’s Glass Cutting Department for 17 years, who was the genius behind the Tiffany lamps that are most avidly sought by today’s collectors. A permanent gallery of Tiffany lamps at the New-York Historical Society celebrates the anonymous women behind the desirable fixtures.

Find antique Tiffany Studios lamps, decorative glass objects and other works on 1stDibs.