Tiffany Studios New York "Drophead Dragonfly" Table Lamp
This Tiffany Studios New York “Drophead Dragonfly” table lamp features a leaded glass shade adorned with dragonflies whose wings shimmer in mint green and amber hues, set against a graduated ground of the same colors. Accentuating the shade are scattered glass jewels in varied tones of green. The shade rests on a telescoping, reticulated “Queen Anne’s Lace” base—named for the delicate wildflower motif that Louis Comfort Tiffany employed across his work in pottery, glass, and jewelry. Tiffany drew inspiration from the École de Nancy’s fascination with umbelliferous plants. Queen Anne’s lace, or wild carrot—an invasive species introduced from Europe—had spread across the fields and riverbanks of the American East Coast. Admired for its visual delicacy yet dismissed by gardeners as a weed, the plant's dual nature embodied the Art Nouveau ideal of the femme fatale– beautiful yet dangerous. Despite their weedy classification, members of the Umbelliferae family were revered and widely featured in the decorative arts of the era.
Item #: YL-22181
Artist: Tiffany Studios New York
Country: United States
Circa: 1899
Dimensions: 30.5" height, 22" diameter.
Materials: Leaded Glass, Bronze
Shade Signed: Tiffany Studios New York 1507
Base Signed: Tiffany Studios New York 397
Literature: A similar shade is pictured in: The Lamps of Tiffany, by Dr. Egon Neustadt, New York: The Fairfield Press, 1970, p. 173 , Nr . 240th A. Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Suffolk, Woodbridge, 2019, Shade pictured on p. 155 pl. 643-45; Base pictured on p. 82, pl. 319.
Item #: YL-22181
Artist: Tiffany Studios New York
Country: United States
Circa: 1899
Dimensions: 30.5" height, 22" diameter.
Materials: Leaded Glass, Bronze
Shade Signed: Tiffany Studios New York 1507
Base Signed: Tiffany Studios New York 397
Literature: A similar shade is pictured in: The Lamps of Tiffany, by Dr. Egon Neustadt, New York: The Fairfield Press, 1970, p. 173 , Nr . 240th A. Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Suffolk, Woodbridge, 2019, Shade pictured on p. 155 pl. 643-45; Base pictured on p. 82, pl. 319.
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 prints and their evocative views into the minute worlds of butterflies, dragonflies and grasshoppers. At his Laurelton Hall estate, an artwork of nature coaxed into form over decades, Tiffany observed these insects in the teeming salt water marshes and wetlands of Oyster Bay. The dragonfly’s iridescent wings, lustrous, metallic body, and wetland habitat of blues and greens embodied many of Louis’ fascinations with the ephemeral phenomena of color and light. Dragonflies served as inspiration in a variety of Louis’ most notable lamps, as well a remarkable early jewel, the dragonfly hair ornament in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Since Tiffany Studio artisans were given the freedom to select particular textures, patterns, hues, tones and saturations of the glass they would use for each shade, the lamps are unique in subtle ways. Among this lamp’s particular charms is the dichroism of its shade. The reddish amber dichroism of the green glass, an innovative effect achieved through the addition of minute amounts of silver and gold, is readily seen when the shade is viewed from within. In addition, beautiful and subtle features enhance its interior, and are evident on closer inspection. The interior coppered lead surfaces of the shade were gilded, enhancing the shade’s light transmission and golden brightness. Further, the risers spiral in whiplash curves up to the light cluster, and are enhanced with exotic shell motifs where they join the columnar base. With its stylized naturalism, restrained palette, innovative glass, subtle shading, and early gilt surface, the lamp is a unified work of beauty.
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 prints and their evocative views into the minute worlds of butterflies, dragonflies and grasshoppers. At his Laurelton Hall estate, an artwork of nature coaxed into form over decades, Tiffany observed these insects in the teeming salt water marshes and wetlands of Oyster Bay. The dragonfly’s iridescent wings, lustrous, metallic body, and wetland habitat of blues and greens embodied many of Louis’ fascinations with the ephemeral phenomena of color and light. Dragonflies served as inspiration in a variety of Louis’ most notable lamps, as well a remarkable early jewel, the dragonfly hair ornament in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Since Tiffany Studio artisans were given the freedom to select particular textures, patterns, hues, tones and saturations of the glass they would use for each shade, the lamps are unique in subtle ways. Among this lamp’s particular charms is the dichroism of its shade. The reddish amber dichroism of the green glass, an innovative effect achieved through the addition of minute amounts of silver and gold, is readily seen when the shade is viewed from within. In addition, beautiful and subtle features enhance its interior, and are evident on closer inspection. The interior coppered lead surfaces of the shade were gilded, enhancing the shade’s light transmission and golden brightness. Further, the risers spiral in whiplash curves up to the light cluster, and are enhanced with exotic shell motifs where they join the columnar base. With its stylized naturalism, restrained palette, innovative glass, subtle shading, and early gilt surface, the lamp is a unified work of beauty.
