This exceptional Tiffany Lamp brings together two of the most rare designs produced by Tiffany Studios at the turn of the 20th century.
There are only a handful of known examples of the Cyclamen Shade, likely designed by Clara Driscoll around 1900 at the direction of Louis Comfort Tiffany, who cultivated several varieties of the woodland plant at his estate Laurelton Hall.
Measuring 16 inches in diameter, this rare conical shade features a subtly repeating composition of cyclamen flowers and foliage. From the lower edge, a dense arrangement of leaves spread across and up the shade, each leaf articulated in a distinct selection of green glass in a range of textures and hues, including several examples of olive green “ripple” glass. The upper two-thirds of the shade depicts clusters of cyclamen flowers formed by variegated pink and white glass carefully selected and arranged to replicate the particular gradient of color typically seen in the species. The flowers stand out against a background of translucent glass in shades of deep blue streaked throughout with pink and purple, a narrow band of which is framed along the lower edge by horizontal border rows of deep green “ripple” glass.
An example of this rare shade showcasing strikingly similar glass selection is in the permanent collection of the New-York Historical and is on permanent view in the Gallery of Tiffany Lamps.
The shade is paired with an early example of the Fern base, one of the most sculptural Tiffany lamp bases featuring an openwork motif of unfurling fern fronds with naturalistic chased detailing.
Both the shade and base of this authentic Tiffany lamp are signed with firm’s marks and model numbers.
Height: 24 inches (61 cm)
Diameter: 16 inches (40.6 cm)
References:
Margaret K. Hofer and Rebecca Klassen, The Lamps of Tiffany Studios: Nature Illuminated, The Neustadt Collection at the New York Historical Society, exh. cat., New York Historical Society, New York, 2016, pp. 98-99 and 137, no. 52
Martin Eidelberg, Nina Gray, and Margaret K. Hofer, A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls, exh. cat., The New York Historical Society, New York, 2007, pp. 186-187, fig. 98
Martin Eidelberg, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Nancy A. McClelland and Lars Rachen, The Lamps of Louis Comfort Tiffany, New York, 2005, p. 65 and pp. 151-152.