Tiffany Studios' Tulip shades were likely designed by Clara Driscoll, the head of the Women’s Glass Cutting Department and one of the most important artists working in Louis Comfort Tiffany’s empire. A widely popular design, Tulip shades were produced for Tiffany Lamps in a variety of sizes and configurations ranging from 16 inches to 22 inches in diameter.
This 18-inch diameter example of the domed Tulip shade depicts a field of richly colored variegated red tulips receding into the distance, with some of the flower petals formed by red glass marbled with white to suggest the three-dimensionality of the petals. The red tulips stand out against a sky formed by deep purple transparent glass with dramatic streaks of sapphire blue and deep green. Leaves and stems in mottled green glass spring from the lower edge of the shade, where dark variegated glass, interrupted by narrow horizontal borders in mottled pale blue, represent the soil.
This exceptional Tulip shade is paired with an original bronze Tiffany Lamp base known as the Four Virtues base, in rich brown-green patina. Each of the four flat planes of the central column 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.
Height: 25 ½ inches (64.7 cm)
Diameter: 18 inches (45.7 cm)