This Tiffany Studios New York "Dragonfly" leaded glass and bronze table lamp was designed circa 1905-1913. The shade, bordered above and below by amber streaked with emerald green, features six amber dragonflies, their wings shaded in subtle undertones of light blue streaked with raw umber. Highlighted by amber glass cabochons, the striking mottled glass employed consistently throughout the background evokes a golden hour wetland vista with dragonflies among motes and scintilla, all hovering over tranquil water late on a summer’s day. The peaceful scene rests on a rare “Mushroom” base.
Product Details:
Item #: L-20743
Artist: Tiffany Studios New York
Country: United States
Circa: 1905-1913
Dimensions: 20" diameter, 22.5" height
Materials: Leaded Glass, Bronze
Shade Signed: Tiffany Studios New York 1495
Base Signed: Tiffany Studios New York 394
Literature: Dr. Egon Neustadt, The Lamps of Tiffany, New York, 1970, pp. 102-105 (for the shade) Robert Koch, Louis C. Tiffany's Glass, Bronzes, Lamps: A Complete Collector's Guide, New York, 1989, p. 128 (for the shade) David A. Hanks, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Treasures from the Driehaus Collection, New York, 2013, pp. 52-55 (for the shade) Alastair Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2019, pp. 106, fig. 413 and 172, fig. 696 (for the shade);pp. 106, no. 414, 170, no. 685. A similar base is pictured on p. 84, plate 324.
Macklowe Gallery Curator's Notes:
In their various iterations, dating from 1906 and before, dragonfly lamps were among the earliest, most popular, and most costly of Tiffany Studios designs. The dragonfly was a leitmotif of the Art Nouveau, but Louis Tiffany encountered the creature and explored its form and significance throughout his childhood and artistic life, beginning as a youngster who sketched au plein air in the woods and wetlands surrounding his father’s summer house. At Tiffany & Co., Louis encountered dragonflies in the metalwork of Edward C. Moore, who was strongly inspired by the Katsushika Hokusai’s woodblock...
Category
Early 20th Century American Art Nouveau Lead Table Lamps