TIFFANY STUDIOS
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Glass and crystal
See also : Glass and crystal
1900 Dandelion Lamp
2021 SOLD for $ 3.75M by Rago
In 1900 skilled craftsmen rush from everywhere in the world to display their achievements at the Exposition Universelle de Paris.
In New York the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company develops various techniques for the growing market of the lighting. Their very own recently patented favrile glass displaying bright colors in the bulk is awarded a Grand Prix at that Exposition. Tiffany operates also a production line for bronze casting, for enameling and will soon have one for ceramics.
The 75 cm high Dandelion lamp is one of the masterpieces conceived especially by Tiffany for the Paris Exposition. In 1901 it will also be displayed at the Pan American in Buffalo. At the same time in France, Gallé was inspired by all current forms of nature and highlighting a mere dandelion was in the fashion of the time.
The lamp is a glass globe 29 cm in diameter atop a tall and narrow copper base. It is not enameled and its technical feat is not in the blown white glass engraved with a flow of seeds but in the copper, intricately hammered with all the growing elements of a dandelion and displaying a variety of patinations by oxidizing.
The production process was time consuming. After making a replica of the dandelion, no other unit will be made. From 1901 the assembly of a shade with hundreds of small colored favrile plaques is the solution for developing the highly successful production line of the Tiffany lamps, farther from botanical realism but more appealing to the customers.
The original Dandelion lamp has just resurfaced. It was sold for $ 3.75M by Rago on May 13, 2021, lot 273 here linked on the LiveAuctioneers bidding platform.
In New York the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company develops various techniques for the growing market of the lighting. Their very own recently patented favrile glass displaying bright colors in the bulk is awarded a Grand Prix at that Exposition. Tiffany operates also a production line for bronze casting, for enameling and will soon have one for ceramics.
The 75 cm high Dandelion lamp is one of the masterpieces conceived especially by Tiffany for the Paris Exposition. In 1901 it will also be displayed at the Pan American in Buffalo. At the same time in France, Gallé was inspired by all current forms of nature and highlighting a mere dandelion was in the fashion of the time.
The lamp is a glass globe 29 cm in diameter atop a tall and narrow copper base. It is not enameled and its technical feat is not in the blown white glass engraved with a flow of seeds but in the copper, intricately hammered with all the growing elements of a dandelion and displaying a variety of patinations by oxidizing.
The production process was time consuming. After making a replica of the dandelion, no other unit will be made. From 1901 the assembly of a shade with hundreds of small colored favrile plaques is the solution for developing the highly successful production line of the Tiffany lamps, farther from botanical realism but more appealing to the customers.
The original Dandelion lamp has just resurfaced. It was sold for $ 3.75M by Rago on May 13, 2021, lot 273 here linked on the LiveAuctioneers bidding platform.
Tiffany Studios Dandelion lamp, 1900, hand-blown Favrile glass & hammered & patinated copper, 29½" H x 11½" D, sold for $3,745,000 (est $50,000/75,000), setting a new auction record for a Tiffany Lamp https://t.co/GbVsxkrHkD #antiques #antique #vintage #Tiffany #lamp #lamps pic.twitter.com/BvfxkqWbzJ
— Maine Antique Digest (@AntiqueDigest) July 30, 2021
1903 Pond Lily Lamp
2018 SOLD for $ 3.4M by Christie's
Louis Comfort Tiffany patented in 1894 a decorative glass iridescent in its bulk. The transition from kerosene to electricity encourages him to create new lamps. On a base most often in bronze, the lampshade is artistically assembled with hundreds of these small plates.
In the last years of the nineteenth century he installs a workshop for girls to cut glass plates, an activity that requires too much dexterity to be entrusted to workmen.
Tiffany takes a social risk and does not brag about it. The competition is tough and hostile between the men's workshop and the Tiffany Girls. The girls do not have the right to join unions and must leave the company when they get married.
The name of their workshop manager, Clara Driscoll, surfaced in 2006 after the discovery and study of her family correspondence. Tiffany had rehired this young widow after the temporary disappearance of a second suitor. Tiffany was lucky : Clara had great artistic skills.
Clara adapted the workshop to create naturalistic lampshades composed of a multitude of colored plates. Her name appears only once in period, in an article of the New York Daily News in 1904 : she is credited with the creation of the Dragonfly lamp which earned a bronze medal to the Tiffany Glass Company at the Universal Exhibition of Paris in 1900.
Trained as an artist, Tiffany is a great lover of gardens. The first release in his new line of products is the wisteria lamp, with an irregularly fringed lower edge that underlines the shape of the plants.
The Pond Lily lamp designed in 1902 is in line with another preference of Tiffany who maintained water gardens in his country estates. Its bell shaped shade is a technical feat because the upper part showing radiating stems on a blue background is an assembly made entirely of glass pieces not reinforced with bronze. Although it appears in the price list until 1906, it seems that its production has been stopped early.
14 lamps of this model have survived. One of them, with a 46 cm diameter lampshade and a 67 cm overall height, is particularly appealing in its colorful composition. It was sold for $ 3.4M from a lower estimate of $ 1.8M by Christie's on December 13, 2018, lot 9. Please watch the very short video shared by the auction house.
This unit is dated 1903 with a near certainty by the rare conjunction of the new Tiffany Studios New York trademark with their old system of nomenclature of the elements.
Some early lamps have a bulging glass body decorated in a mosaic pattern and framed by metal studs. The 61 cm high Cobweb and Apple Blossom table lamp belongs to that category. The spider webs set beautiful radiating areas around which the colors of the flowers are positioned elegantly.
These early models are extremely rare, perhaps made obsolete after the development by the Tiffany Girls at the end of 1901 of the Wisteria lamp in which the extraordinary complexity of glass assembly is only applied to the lampshade.
On December 13, 2017, Sotheby's sold for $ 1.15M a Cobweb and Apple Blossom table lamp , lot 222. The terminus ante quem attested by the monogram Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company stamped on its base is 1902.
The Cobweb lamp is made on a similar design. A 77 cm high electrified specimen was one of the two flagships from the Louis C. Tiffany Garden Museum collection in Matsue, Japan, discussed in this column before it was dispersed at auction by Michaan's in November 2012. The lampshade is entirely composed with webs and the body is decorated with wildflowers.
In the last years of the nineteenth century he installs a workshop for girls to cut glass plates, an activity that requires too much dexterity to be entrusted to workmen.
Tiffany takes a social risk and does not brag about it. The competition is tough and hostile between the men's workshop and the Tiffany Girls. The girls do not have the right to join unions and must leave the company when they get married.
The name of their workshop manager, Clara Driscoll, surfaced in 2006 after the discovery and study of her family correspondence. Tiffany had rehired this young widow after the temporary disappearance of a second suitor. Tiffany was lucky : Clara had great artistic skills.
Clara adapted the workshop to create naturalistic lampshades composed of a multitude of colored plates. Her name appears only once in period, in an article of the New York Daily News in 1904 : she is credited with the creation of the Dragonfly lamp which earned a bronze medal to the Tiffany Glass Company at the Universal Exhibition of Paris in 1900.
Trained as an artist, Tiffany is a great lover of gardens. The first release in his new line of products is the wisteria lamp, with an irregularly fringed lower edge that underlines the shape of the plants.
The Pond Lily lamp designed in 1902 is in line with another preference of Tiffany who maintained water gardens in his country estates. Its bell shaped shade is a technical feat because the upper part showing radiating stems on a blue background is an assembly made entirely of glass pieces not reinforced with bronze. Although it appears in the price list until 1906, it seems that its production has been stopped early.
14 lamps of this model have survived. One of them, with a 46 cm diameter lampshade and a 67 cm overall height, is particularly appealing in its colorful composition. It was sold for $ 3.4M from a lower estimate of $ 1.8M by Christie's on December 13, 2018, lot 9. Please watch the very short video shared by the auction house.
This unit is dated 1903 with a near certainty by the rare conjunction of the new Tiffany Studios New York trademark with their old system of nomenclature of the elements.
Some early lamps have a bulging glass body decorated in a mosaic pattern and framed by metal studs. The 61 cm high Cobweb and Apple Blossom table lamp belongs to that category. The spider webs set beautiful radiating areas around which the colors of the flowers are positioned elegantly.
These early models are extremely rare, perhaps made obsolete after the development by the Tiffany Girls at the end of 1901 of the Wisteria lamp in which the extraordinary complexity of glass assembly is only applied to the lampshade.
On December 13, 2017, Sotheby's sold for $ 1.15M a Cobweb and Apple Blossom table lamp , lot 222. The terminus ante quem attested by the monogram Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company stamped on its base is 1902.
The Cobweb lamp is made on a similar design. A 77 cm high electrified specimen was one of the two flagships from the Louis C. Tiffany Garden Museum collection in Matsue, Japan, discussed in this column before it was dispersed at auction by Michaan's in November 2012. The lampshade is entirely composed with webs and the body is decorated with wildflowers.
Don't miss our upcoming Design and Masterpieces in Glass: The Nakamoto Collection sales this December 13 in #NewYork featuring a $2 million 'Pond Lily' Tiffany lamp https://t.co/JWSDV2Q9z4 pic.twitter.com/TSwx1u0ml6
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) December 3, 2018
1903 Trumpet Creeper Lamp
2018 SOLD for $ 2.3M by Sotheby's
In 1901 Louis Comfort Tiffany entrusts the realization of lampshades in favrile glass to his Women's Glass Cutting Department. The shade will then be mounted on a bronze base. The whole will display exquisite floral patterns.
The wisteria lamp demonstrates the feasibility of the project. On a flared bell shaped wooden mould, the Tiffany Girls assemble about 2,000 tiles in all colors, with a fringed lower edge that underlines the descending bunches of flowers. Bronze vine shoots provide the rigidity to this fragile form.
The mould of the wisteria lamp is then used with other color combinations composed of bigger tiles. The diversified offering now includes Trumpet Creeper, Grape and Apple Blossom shades. Three of these four variants illustrate vines, obviously matching a botanical preference of the boss.
For each model, the units are distinguished from each other by the small details of their color schemes. The passion of the amateurs generates now the diversity of the auction prices.
A rare Trumpet Creeper lamp made around 1903, sold for $ 2.3M from a lower estimate of $ 800K by Sotheby's on December 12, 2018, lot 327.
The wisteria lamp demonstrates the feasibility of the project. On a flared bell shaped wooden mould, the Tiffany Girls assemble about 2,000 tiles in all colors, with a fringed lower edge that underlines the descending bunches of flowers. Bronze vine shoots provide the rigidity to this fragile form.
The mould of the wisteria lamp is then used with other color combinations composed of bigger tiles. The diversified offering now includes Trumpet Creeper, Grape and Apple Blossom shades. Three of these four variants illustrate vines, obviously matching a botanical preference of the boss.
For each model, the units are distinguished from each other by the small details of their color schemes. The passion of the amateurs generates now the diversity of the auction prices.
A rare Trumpet Creeper lamp made around 1903, sold for $ 2.3M from a lower estimate of $ 800K by Sotheby's on December 12, 2018, lot 327.
#AuctionUpdate: Undoubtedly the finest example of the model that is known to exist, this "Trumpet Creeper” Table Lamp by Tiffany Studios soars to $2.3 million - over 2x its estimate pic.twitter.com/8455KVxKEj
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) December 12, 2018
1905 Wisteria Lamp
2013 SOLD for $ 1.57M by Sotheby's
In Europe and America, Art Nouveau is inseparable from the progress of electric lighting. Louis Tiffany and Emile Gallé filter the light through glass walls that create shimmering effects. The beauty of nature inspires the artists, realistically for Gallé and in a more stylized or Japanese style at Tiffany.
The team of the Tiffany Girls is responsible for preparing and cutting the glass plates. It is operated by Clara Driscoll, whose designing skill was decisive for the development of the most complex and most beautiful shades of Tiffany Studios.
The Wisteria 18" is a table lamp 70 cm high composed of a shade 49 cm in diameter made of nearly 2,000 individually cut small tiles of brightly colored glass and of a bronze foot. Designed in 1901 by Clara Driscoll, this model is inspired by botany. The foot looks like a gnarled trunk extended with protruding roots, and the bell shaped shade falls in hemmed clusters like a wisteria.
This model was available from 1901 to 1906. The Tiffany number does not enable to identify a more specific date. Auction catalogs generally date these productions ca 1905. The wisteria was offered for the very expensive price of $ 400 in the catalogue of Tiffany Studios in 1906. Tiffany Studios produced larger shades for the Cherry Tree and Dragonfly lamps.
For the Wisteria lamp and similar models, the units are distinguished from each other by the small details of their individually selected color schemes.
Made around 1905, a wisteria lamp with gradual luminous colors including deep cobalt blue was sold by Sotheby's for $ 1.57M on December 18, 2013, lot 330, for $ 950K on December 12, 2018, lot 326, and for $ 1.4M on December 6, 2023, lot 216.
Collecting can provide an intense joy. Sandra van den Broek, who specialized in Tiffany lamps, bought several years apart in different circumstances two Wisteria 18" lamps that had an adjacent serial number, and the characteristics of the colored elements showed that they had been cut on the same glass plates.
On December 17, 2014, Sotheby's sold seven lamps which had belonged to van den Broek. Both Wisterias are sold separately, which is not a nonsense since they were not intended to be used as pairs. Lot 215 was sold for $ 1.15M and lot 216 for $ 1.2M. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's for introducing the sale
The team of the Tiffany Girls is responsible for preparing and cutting the glass plates. It is operated by Clara Driscoll, whose designing skill was decisive for the development of the most complex and most beautiful shades of Tiffany Studios.
The Wisteria 18" is a table lamp 70 cm high composed of a shade 49 cm in diameter made of nearly 2,000 individually cut small tiles of brightly colored glass and of a bronze foot. Designed in 1901 by Clara Driscoll, this model is inspired by botany. The foot looks like a gnarled trunk extended with protruding roots, and the bell shaped shade falls in hemmed clusters like a wisteria.
This model was available from 1901 to 1906. The Tiffany number does not enable to identify a more specific date. Auction catalogs generally date these productions ca 1905. The wisteria was offered for the very expensive price of $ 400 in the catalogue of Tiffany Studios in 1906. Tiffany Studios produced larger shades for the Cherry Tree and Dragonfly lamps.
For the Wisteria lamp and similar models, the units are distinguished from each other by the small details of their individually selected color schemes.
Made around 1905, a wisteria lamp with gradual luminous colors including deep cobalt blue was sold by Sotheby's for $ 1.57M on December 18, 2013, lot 330, for $ 950K on December 12, 2018, lot 326, and for $ 1.4M on December 6, 2023, lot 216.
Collecting can provide an intense joy. Sandra van den Broek, who specialized in Tiffany lamps, bought several years apart in different circumstances two Wisteria 18" lamps that had an adjacent serial number, and the characteristics of the colored elements showed that they had been cut on the same glass plates.
On December 17, 2014, Sotheby's sold seven lamps which had belonged to van den Broek. Both Wisterias are sold separately, which is not a nonsense since they were not intended to be used as pairs. Lot 215 was sold for $ 1.15M and lot 216 for $ 1.2M. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's for introducing the sale
1905 Pony Wisteria
2023 SOLD for $ 1.63M by Sotheby's
Clara Driscoll and her team designed a smaller version of the wisteria table lamp, 43 cm high and 26 cm in diameter of shade, which was referred as Pony Wisteria by Tiffany Studios.
The base in patinated bronze is more sculptural, reflecting naturalistically the vine of the plant. The blossoms have the same size as in the larger version. The dripping glass panicles are similar.
An exquisite example is dated ca 1905 in the catalogue as usual for the wisteria lamps. It includes the hues of a sunset interspersing in vibrant red, orange and yellow the range of purple and lavender of the blooms beside blue sky and green leaves. It was sold by Sotheby's for $ 615K on December 11, 2018, lot 10, and for $ 1.63M on December 7, 2023, lot 209.
The base in patinated bronze is more sculptural, reflecting naturalistically the vine of the plant. The blossoms have the same size as in the larger version. The dripping glass panicles are similar.
An exquisite example is dated ca 1905 in the catalogue as usual for the wisteria lamps. It includes the hues of a sunset interspersing in vibrant red, orange and yellow the range of purple and lavender of the blooms beside blue sky and green leaves. It was sold by Sotheby's for $ 615K on December 11, 2018, lot 10, and for $ 1.63M on December 7, 2023, lot 209.
1905 Fire Screen
2007 SOLD for $ 1.67M by Christie's
A fire screen 80 cm high, 146 cm wide and 23 cm deep made ca 1905 by Tiffany Studios in wrought iron and favrile glass was sold for $ 1.67M by Christie's on December 16, 2007 from a lower estimate of $ 100K, lot 25.
Its glass pattern is a chain mail with gilt details.
It had been originally placed in the home of an architect who was a disciple of Louis Sullivan.
Its glass pattern is a chain mail with gilt details.
It had been originally placed in the home of an architect who was a disciple of Louis Sullivan.
> 1903 Pink Lotus Lamp
1997 SOLD for $ 2.8M by Christie's
A highly rare Pink Lotus lamp made by Tiffany Studios in the period 1900-1910 was sold for $ 2.8M by Christie's on December 12, 1997, lot 200. It is illustrated in the Tiffany lamp collecting guide prepared by Christie's.
It is 88 cm high with a globe shaped shade 71 cm in diameter decorated by a frieze of waterlily blossoms in a high variety of favrile colors. The leaves are in a green tesserae mosaic. The bronze tendrils support and stiffen the mounting.
The bronze base is stamped Tiffany Studios New York 352, which is consistent with the three digit configuration reference used by that brand from 1903.
It is 88 cm high with a globe shaped shade 71 cm in diameter decorated by a frieze of waterlily blossoms in a high variety of favrile colors. The leaves are in a green tesserae mosaic. The bronze tendrils support and stiffen the mounting.
The bronze base is stamped Tiffany Studios New York 352, which is consistent with the three digit configuration reference used by that brand from 1903.
1910 Wisteria Laburnum Lamp
2024 SOLD for $ 2.9M by Sotheby's
Around 1910 on a design attributed to Clara Driscoll, the reference 1539 of the leaded glass shade applies to the laburnum flowers. It features the signature irregular lower border of the wisteria lamp.
A floor lamp with that shade was sold for $ 720K by Sotheby's on December 16, 2015, lot 243. A table lamp with the 1539-1 was sold for $ 840K by Sotheby's on December 16, 2010, lot 227.
A 1539 lamp mingling in an undulation the shimmering colors of wisteria and laburnum blossoms and foliage was executed in the workshop of the Tiffany Girls. No other example is known, probably because that hybrid pattern is not realistic in terms of botany. It was sold for $ 2.9M from a lower estimate of $ 800K by Sotheby's on December 13, 2024, lot 309.
A floor lamp with that shade was sold for $ 720K by Sotheby's on December 16, 2015, lot 243. A table lamp with the 1539-1 was sold for $ 840K by Sotheby's on December 16, 2010, lot 227.
A 1539 lamp mingling in an undulation the shimmering colors of wisteria and laburnum blossoms and foliage was executed in the workshop of the Tiffany Girls. No other example is known, probably because that hybrid pattern is not realistic in terms of botany. It was sold for $ 2.9M from a lower estimate of $ 800K by Sotheby's on December 13, 2024, lot 309.
1915 Peony Lamp
2009 SOLD for $ 1.54M by Christie's
A Peony lamp made by Tiffany Studios ca 1915 was sold by Christie's on December 8, 2009 for $ 1.54M from a lower estimate of $ 600K, lot 11.
1913 Memorial Window
2024 SOLD for $ 12.5M by Sotheby's
A monumental arched window 490 x 325 cm including the frame was executed in 1913 by Tiffany Studios. It was made of leaded Favrile glass selectively plated in front and reverse. This memorial window had been commissioned by the First Baptist Church in Canton OH to honor the 50 years of service of a founding couple in their lifetime.
The stunning landscape at sunset is viewed from behind a balcony with flourishing apple trees and a field of red poppies. Within the Tiffany Studios organization, it is a technical feat by the Tiffany Girls team from a cartoon by Agnes Northrop. An early employee who worked at Tiffany for five decades overall, Northrop was awarded a silver medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle.
Kept at the Church until 1990, the Danner Memorial Window was sold for $ 2M by Christie's on December 8, 2000, lot 387, and for $ 12.5M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2024, lot 113. Please watch the short video shared by Sotheby's.
This achievement illustrates a concept by Tiffany that an Edenic landscape may honor God's glory as well as religious figures and stories.
The stunning landscape at sunset is viewed from behind a balcony with flourishing apple trees and a field of red poppies. Within the Tiffany Studios organization, it is a technical feat by the Tiffany Girls team from a cartoon by Agnes Northrop. An early employee who worked at Tiffany for five decades overall, Northrop was awarded a silver medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle.
Kept at the Church until 1990, the Danner Memorial Window was sold for $ 2M by Christie's on December 8, 2000, lot 387, and for $ 12.5M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2024, lot 113. Please watch the short video shared by Sotheby's.
This achievement illustrates a concept by Tiffany that an Edenic landscape may honor God's glory as well as religious figures and stories.
#AuctionUpdate: Standing an impressive sixteen feet in height, the breathtaking Danner Memorial Window by Tiffany Studios has sold for $12.5M. #SothebysModern pic.twitter.com/62DxkoJlde
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) November 19, 2024
