- 38
Tiffany Studios
Estimate
400,000 - 600,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Tiffany Studios
- A Rare "Pebble" Table Lamp
- underside of oil font impressed TIFFANY STUDIOS/NEW YORK/21550 with the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company monogram
- quartz pebbles, leaded glass, favrile glass, and patinated bronze
with a "Pumpkin" base with pebble decoration
Provenance
Private Collection, Connecticut
Macklowe Gallery, New York, 1983
Macklowe Gallery, New York, 1983
Literature
William Feldstein, Jr. and Alastair Duncan, The Lamps of Tiffany Studios, New York, 1983, pp. 96-97 (for the present example illustrated)
Jacob Baal-Teshuva, Louis Comfort Tiffany, New York, 2001, p. 221
Alastair Duncan, Louis C. Tiffany: The Garden Museum Collection, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2004, p. 319
Alastair Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2007, p. 42, no. 143 (for the present example illustrated) and p. 140 (for a period photograph of the model)
Martin Eidelberg, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Nancy A. McClelland and Lars Rachen, The Lamps of Louis Comfort Tiffany, New York, 2005, pp. 14-15
Jacob Baal-Teshuva, Louis Comfort Tiffany, New York, 2001, p. 221
Alastair Duncan, Louis C. Tiffany: The Garden Museum Collection, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2004, p. 319
Alastair Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2007, p. 42, no. 143 (for the present example illustrated) and p. 140 (for a period photograph of the model)
Martin Eidelberg, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Nancy A. McClelland and Lars Rachen, The Lamps of Louis Comfort Tiffany, New York, 2005, pp. 14-15
Condition
Overall in very good condition. All of the inset pebbles and cut glass in the shade appear original, intact and undisturbed. Some of the pebbles show minor surface irregularities which are inherent to the natural qualities of the stone, and with a few sporadic internal hairlines (all stable) which also appear inherent in the stone. The shade is slightly out of round, and has a slightly snug fit when set within the shade ring. The rare pebble base is in remarkable original condition. The vibrant green favrile glass body is in very good condition, showing no cracks or significant condition issues. The exterior surface of the glass with a subtle glass thread which extends around the circumference of the base; this thread is inherent in the original glass-blowing process. The upper regions of the glass with some light rubbing from gentle surface contact with the upper mount. The bezel-mounted pebbles on the base all appear intact, original and undisturbed. Similar to the shade, these pebbles show surface irregularities which are inherent in the natural qualities of the stone. The mounted pebbles with traces of surface soiling in the natural recessed contours. The patinated bronze filigree mount with light surface wear and minor surface soiling to the recessed areas of the design. The exterior of the oil font and interior receiving well on the base with minor discolorations and oxidation. By all accounts this lamp appears to have had an early period conversion to electricity; the oil font retains its original reticulated gallery, socket and paddle switch from the period. The oil font has not been drilled and the electric cord extends from the gallery just below the socket. With a replaced clear glass chimney (not illustrated in the catalogue illustration) with a few faint surface scratches. A superb example of this exceedingly rare lamp model. The lamp is absolutely dazzling when experienced in person, showing great tactility and radiance. The execution is exquisite and the proportions and scale quite refined, imparting the lamp with a precious, jewel-like sensibility.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
Drawing on his admiration for the natural world, Tiffany preferred organic irregularities to classical idealism, just as he preferred even slight asymmetry to strict symmetry. Those attitudes are evidenced in both the base and shade of this table lamp.
The inclusion of natural stone pebbles in both parts of the lamp is typical of Tiffany’s early vocabulary. For the officers’ lounge in the 7th Regiment Armory in New York, he wrapped iron boat chains around the columns and re-used old textile printing rollers for the legs of the central table. Often he painted watercolors on irregular Japanese paper with inclusions of other material. When he first began making leaded glass windows, he often chose “flawed” glass that had air bubbles and irregular veins of colors that the commercial glass houses normally rejected. If this had been the 1920s or the 1950s, one would have described his as an aesthetic of the “objet trouvé,” but Tiffany’s aesthetic of the happy accident was considerably earlier and quite daring. In designing the great wall sconces for the Lyceum Theatre in New York in the mid 1880s, he joined together chunks of chipped glass and actual sea shells as a screen to diffuse the bright electric-bulb lighting. He then continued this idea in lighting fixtures he sold in the early 1890s, including the one he sold to the Berlin Museum of Decorative Arts (the Kunstgewerbe Museum). Thus the change to natural pebbles and chipped glass in this shade and on the base are part of this natural evolution.
Although the shade might at first glance seem to be randomly placed shapes, a thoughtful pattern gradually emerges. It is more evident at the bottom of the shade where occasionally one can perceive halves of daisy-like, stellate flowers. Then, as one studies the middle region other, smaller flowers emerge, and these continue to the upper rim. The natural color of the stones and the variations from clear to ochre in the glass make it seem as though all the elements are as one.
Only when Tiffany opened his glass factory in Corona, could he start thinking about blowing favrile glass vessels such as the one used for the base of this fuel lamp. Whereas he could easily have purchased commercially produced glass spheres tailored for this purpose, he much preferred the handmade quality of his favrile glass (favrile meaning handmade). Not only is the coloration irregular, going from light to darker green, the vessel itself is irregular, more like a melon with gentle indentations. Because of these irregularities, the bronze collar had to be tailored to correspond to the glass. Its collar is set with small, pearly pebbles, harmonizing with the shade. Twisted bronze wire and beading, soldered to the collar in alternating patterns, further enrich the surface. All in all, the lamp has a curiously non-Western look. The stone-mounted metal bears a resemblance to Islamic work and the irregular surface and intricate patterns of the shade recalls mosque windows. For Tiffany, who had traveled to North Africa in the 1870s and admired all he saw there, any perceived resemblance would have been taken as a compliment.
MARTIN EIDELBERG
The inclusion of natural stone pebbles in both parts of the lamp is typical of Tiffany’s early vocabulary. For the officers’ lounge in the 7th Regiment Armory in New York, he wrapped iron boat chains around the columns and re-used old textile printing rollers for the legs of the central table. Often he painted watercolors on irregular Japanese paper with inclusions of other material. When he first began making leaded glass windows, he often chose “flawed” glass that had air bubbles and irregular veins of colors that the commercial glass houses normally rejected. If this had been the 1920s or the 1950s, one would have described his as an aesthetic of the “objet trouvé,” but Tiffany’s aesthetic of the happy accident was considerably earlier and quite daring. In designing the great wall sconces for the Lyceum Theatre in New York in the mid 1880s, he joined together chunks of chipped glass and actual sea shells as a screen to diffuse the bright electric-bulb lighting. He then continued this idea in lighting fixtures he sold in the early 1890s, including the one he sold to the Berlin Museum of Decorative Arts (the Kunstgewerbe Museum). Thus the change to natural pebbles and chipped glass in this shade and on the base are part of this natural evolution.
Although the shade might at first glance seem to be randomly placed shapes, a thoughtful pattern gradually emerges. It is more evident at the bottom of the shade where occasionally one can perceive halves of daisy-like, stellate flowers. Then, as one studies the middle region other, smaller flowers emerge, and these continue to the upper rim. The natural color of the stones and the variations from clear to ochre in the glass make it seem as though all the elements are as one.
Only when Tiffany opened his glass factory in Corona, could he start thinking about blowing favrile glass vessels such as the one used for the base of this fuel lamp. Whereas he could easily have purchased commercially produced glass spheres tailored for this purpose, he much preferred the handmade quality of his favrile glass (favrile meaning handmade). Not only is the coloration irregular, going from light to darker green, the vessel itself is irregular, more like a melon with gentle indentations. Because of these irregularities, the bronze collar had to be tailored to correspond to the glass. Its collar is set with small, pearly pebbles, harmonizing with the shade. Twisted bronze wire and beading, soldered to the collar in alternating patterns, further enrich the surface. All in all, the lamp has a curiously non-Western look. The stone-mounted metal bears a resemblance to Islamic work and the irregular surface and intricate patterns of the shade recalls mosque windows. For Tiffany, who had traveled to North Africa in the 1870s and admired all he saw there, any perceived resemblance would have been taken as a compliment.
MARTIN EIDELBERG