The iconic Dragonfly Lamp was one of the first leaded glass Tiffany Lamps designed by Clara Driscoll for Tiffany Studios. Driscoll designed the earliest versions of the Dragonfly lamp in the spring of 1899, which were then exhibited by Louis Comfort Tiffany first at the Grafton Galleries in London and then at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900 to great acclaim.
The Dragonfly quickly became one of the most popular lamps produced by Tiffany Studios in the early 20th century and remains a favorite of modern Tiffany collectors.
This example of the 20-inch diameter shade depicts a series of dragonflies formed by a variety of selections of Tiffany Glass ranging from mottled deep blue to soft green and richly striated red, with rounded Tiffany Glass “jewels” for the eyes; each dragonfly encircling the shade is formed by a different color of glass for the eyes as well as for the bodies. The wings of the dragonflies, formed by marbled glass in shades of green and red, are mounted with pierced metal filigree representing the membranous wings of the insect. The upper register of the shade is interspersed with pressed ovoid Tiffany Glass “gems” in shades of green. The background glass is formed by richly mottled Tiffany Glass in a soft shade of blue-green.
This Dragonfly Shade is paired with an original bronze Tiffany Lamp base known as the Four Virtues base. Each of the four flat planes of the central stem of the lamp features a stylized depiction of a female figure accompanied by the inscriptions: Veridas, Charitas, Fides and Puritas.
Both the shade and base of this original Tiffany lamp are signed.
Diameter: 20 inches (50.8 cm)
Height: 25 ½ inches (64.8 cm)