Louis Comfort Tiffany

Exhibited by Macklowe Gallery

Material Leaded glass, bronze

Dimensions 30 × 22 in

Place of Creation New York, NY

Price $495,000

Status Vetted

About the Work

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.

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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 similar base is pictured in: Tiffany Lamps and Metalware: An illustrated reference to over 2000 models, by Alastair Duncan, Woodbridge: Suffolk: Antique Collectors' Club, 1988, p. 85, plate 330.