This exceptional Tiffany Lamp is a masterful example of the innovative designs for leaded glass produced under Louis Comfort Tiffany’s direction and discerning eye, and the skill of the “Tiffany Girls” who selected and cut each piece of glass by hand, arranging them to create a naturalistic floral composition in leaded glass.
This leaded glass shade depicts viburnum (commonly known as the Japanese Snowball Bush), the gnarled branches cascading from the crown of the shade laden with fluffy white blossoms articulated in a mottled Tiffany Glass in shades of white in varying levels of opacity, with several of the globular blossoms tinged with pale green. The naturalism of the shade is further heightened with the use of rippled glass representing the leaves of the plant, while a background of deep blue sets off the floral composition.
The Snowball Lamp is one of the rare and iconic Tiffany Lamp designs featuring an irregular lower edge.
This Snowball Shade is paired with a Pineapple Table Base which features the original blown Tiffany Glass in a vibrant shade of green which harmonizes with the glass utilized throughout the shade.
The Snowball blossom appears to have been a particular favorite of Louis Comfort Tiffany; he prominently displayed a Snowball and Wisteria Window at Laurelton Hall, the palatial estate he constructed in Long Island which served as a veritable museum for what he saw to be his most important works. According to Tiffany’s daughter, that window was “Papa’s Favorite”; it is now in the permanent collection of The Morse Museum in Winter Park, Florida.
Height: 24 ½ inches (62.2 cm)
Diameter: 16 inches (40.6 cm)