About this artwork
In the 1890s Louis Comfort Tiffany began using his opalescent Favrile glass to produce lamps, the decorative form for which he would become most famous. As the artistic director of Tiffany Studios located in Corona, New York, he approved all patterns but created relatively few lamps himself. Clara Driscoll, head of the Women’s Glass Cutting Department, was likely responsible for this shade and base. Driscoll began working for Tiffany in 1888, and she designed the majority of the firm’s lamps before she left the company in 1908 or 1909. Driscoll created at least eight dragonfly shades. This example is distinguished by its large size, glass cabochons, and the placement of insects’ bodies along the lower edge. While Tiffany Studios mass-produced these shades and bases, the firm varied the color scheme of each object to heighten the sense of handcraftsmanship. This daring design became one of Tiffany’s most popular and was made through 1924.
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Status
- On View, Gallery 178
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Department
- Arts of the Americas
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Artist
- Clara Driscoll (Designer)
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Title
- Lamp with “Hanging Head Dragonfly” Shade and “Mosaic and Turtleback” Base
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Place
- Corona (Object made in)
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Date
- Made 1901–1911
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Medium
- Favrile glass and bronze
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Inscriptions
- Shade model 1507 stamped: TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK 1507 Base model 355 impressed: TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK 5858 TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK
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Dimensions
- 86.4 × 57.2 cm (34 × 22 1/2 in.)
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Credit Line
- Roger and J. Peter McCormick Endowments, Robert Allerton Purchase Fund, Goodman Endowment for the Collection of the Friends of American Art, Pauline S. Armstrong Endowment, Edward E. Ayer Endowment in memory of Charles L. Hutchinson; purchased with funds provided by the Antiquarian Society in memory of Helen Richman Gilbert and Lena Turnbull Gilbert, Sandra van den Broek, Mr. and Mrs. Henry M. Buchbinder, Quinn E. Delaney, Mr. and Mrs. Wesley M. Dixon, Jamee J. and Marshall Field, Celia and David Hilliard, Elizabeth Souder Louis, Mrs. Herbert A. Vance, and Mr. and Mrs. Morris S. Weeden
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Reference Number
- 2006.2
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/185905/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
