The hand-crafted kerosene and early electric lighting fixtures created at Tiffany Studios now rank among the most coveted decorative objects in the world. Tiffany designs of any kind are emblematic of taste and craftsmanship, and Tiffany glass refers to far more than stained-glass windows and decorative glass objects. The iconic multimedia manufactory’s offerings include stained-glass floor lamps, chandeliers and enameled metal vases. The most recognizable and prized of its works are antique Tiffany Studios table lamps.
The name Tiffany generally prompts thoughts of two things: splendid gifts in robin’s-egg blue boxes and exquisite stained glass. In 1837, Charles Lewis Tiffany co-founded the former — Tiffany & Co., one of America’s most prominent purveyors of luxury goods — while his son, Louis Comfort Tiffany, is responsible for exemplars of the latter.
Louis was undoubtedly the most influential and accomplished American decorative artist in the decades that spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rather than join the family business, he studied painting with several teachers, notably the scenic painter Samuel Colman, while spending long periods touring Europe and North Africa. Though he painted his entire career, visits to continental churches sparked a passionate interest in stained glass. Tiffany began experimenting with the material and in 1875 opened a glass factory-cum-laboratory in Corona, Queens — the core of what eventually became Tiffany Studios.
In his glass designs, Tiffany embraced the emerging Art Nouveau movement and its sinuous, naturalistic forms and motifs. By 1902, along with glass, Tiffany was designing stained-glass lamps and chandeliers as well as enameled metal vases, boxes and bowls, and items such as desk sets and candlesticks. Today such pieces epitomize the rich aesthetics of their era.
The lion’s share of credit for Tiffany Studios table lamps and other fixtures has gone to Louis. However, it was actually Clara Driscoll (1861–1944), an Ohio native and head of the Women’s Glass Cutting Department for 17 years, who was the genius behind the Tiffany lamps that are most avidly sought by today’s collectors. A permanent gallery of Tiffany lamps at the New-York Historical Society celebrates the anonymous women behind the desirable fixtures.
Find antique Tiffany Studios lamps, decorative glass objects and other works on 1stDibs.
Tiffany Studios New York "Twelve Light Lily" Table Lamp
By Tiffany Studios
Located in New York, NY
This exquisite Tiffany Studios New York "Twelve-light lily" lamp marks the combination of two of Tiffany's favorite floral motifs, the pond lily, and the morning glory. These shades ...
Bronze
Tiffany Studios New York "Newell Post" Favrile Glass Desk Lamp
By Louis Comfort Tiffany, Tiffany Studios
Located in New York, NY
The "Newell Post" lamp by Tiffany Studios New York, features three gold Favrile glass shades with purple iridescence, suspended from a gilt bronze “Wilson”...
Bronze
Tiffany Studios New York "Seven-light Lily” Table Lamp
By Tiffany Studios
Located in New York, NY
This Tiffany Studios New York glass and bronze "Seven Light Lily" table lamp, features seven golden iridescent Favrile glass "Lily" shades on individual gilt bronze stems extending u...
Bronze
Tiffany Studios New York "Damascene Harp" Desk Lamp
By Tiffany Studios, Louis Comfort Tiffany
Located in New York, NY
This desk lamp by Tiffany Studios, dating from circa 1910, features a damascene favrile glass shade on an adjustable patinated bronze harp base. With dichroi...
Bronze
Tiffany Studios New York "Greek Key" Table Lamp
By Tiffany Studios, Louis Comfort Tiffany
Located in New York, NY
An alluring and visually rewarding example of Tiffany Studios New York's great "Greek Key" table lamp. Mottled glass in hues of warm amber and bright sunshine yellow soften the wonde...
Bronze
Tiffany Studios New York "Pansy" Favrile Glass Vase
By Tiffany Studios
Located in New York, NY
Known as a "Pansy" vase, this Favrile glass creation by Tiffany Studios New York begins with a bulbous base in deep hues of striated, swirling iridescent yellow and gold. Shooting upward from the base is an elongated, narrow neck of similar coloration, darkening in coloration as it ascends. From the narrow neck explodes an outward facing glass bloom in brilliant shades of ochre, umber and marigold, made to shimmer by the undulations in the bloom's outer edges, all tinged with iridescence. Item #: T-22418 Artist: Tiffany Studios New York Country: United States Circa: 1900 Dimensions: 17" height, 8.75" width, 4.5" depth. Materials: Favrile Glass Signed: L.C.T. Y1789 Literature: A similar vase is pictured in Timeless Beauty: The Art of Louis Comfort Tiffany, Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2016, p. 179; and in: The Tiffany Collection of the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, by Paul E. Doros, Richmond, VA: W. M. Brown & son, Inc., 1978, p. 40, cat. no. 47 Macklowe Gallery Curator's Notes: The term “Jack-in-the-Pulpit,” commonly used by collectors today, is in fact a misnomer; this model is more accurately identified as a “Pansy” vase. The form of this Favrile “Pansy” vase was first developed by gaffer John Hollingsworth (American, born England, 1851–1923) in 1906. Like all of Tiffany’s skilled glassmakers, Hollingsworth was encouraged to experiment at the furnace, fostering continual innovation in form and finish. Its gold Favrile surface begins as luminous yellow uranium glass, then achieves its signature iridescence through a delicate spray of silver nitrate. From the outset, these vases were highly prized by early collectors of Tiffany’s blown glass...
Glass
Bronze Art Noveau Style Figural Mermaid Table Lamp with a Conch Shell Lamp Shade
By Tiffany Studios
Located in Port Jervis, NY
Excellent rendition of a Tiffany style lamp, bronze with a conch shell shade. Beautifully cast with a deep bronze patina. In cord switch with a dim...
Bronze
Secessionist Bronze Mermaid Shell Lamp by Gustav Gurschner
By Gustave Gurschner
Located in Palm Beach, FL
GUSTAV GURSCHNER (Austrian, 1873-1970), a sculptor, attended the School of Applied Arts in Vienna in 1888. Working under several artists, his time in Paris in 1897 proved to be most ...
Brass, Wire
Tiffany Studios Bronze and Favrile Table Lamp
By Tiffany Studios, Louis Comfort Tiffany
Located in Dallas, TX
Tiffany Studios Bronze and favrile Desk lamp Damascene iridescent glass with greens, blues, goals and silver. Fine reticulated and patinated bronze base. Original favrile pearl heat cap. Original socket and paddle switch. A rare and fabulous table lamp. New York c. 1910 patinated bronze, Favrile glass Height: 20 Inches (51 cm) Diameter: 7 Inches (18 cm) Impressed to base 'TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK'. Etched to inner top aperture 'L.C.T. Favrile'. Provenance: Private Collection, New York Literature: Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Alastair Duncan, pg. 90 illustrates base and shade AVANTIQUES is dedicated to providing an exclusive curated collection of Fine Arts, Paintings, Bronzes, Asian treasures, Art Glass and Antiques. Our inventory represents time-tested investment quality items with everlasting decorative beauty. We look forward to your business and appreciate any reasonable offers. All of our curated items are vetted and guaranteed authentic and as described. Avantiques only deals in original antiques and never reproductions. We stand behind our treasures with a full money back return policy if the items are not as described. Tiffany glass refers to the many and varied types of glass developed and produced from 1878 to 1933 at the Tiffany Studios in New York, by Louis Comfort Tiffany and a team of other designers, including Clara Driscoll, Agnes F. Northrop and Frederick Wilson. In 1865, Tiffany traveled to Europe, and in London he visited the Victoria and Albert Museum, whose extensive collection of Roman and Syrian glass made a deep impression on him. He admired the coloration of medieval glass and was convinced that the quality of contemporary glass could be improved upon. In his own words, the "Rich tones are due in part to the use of pot metal full of impurities, and in part to the uneven thickness of the glass, but still more because the glass maker of that day abstained from the use of paint". Tiffany was an interior designer, and in 1878 his interest turned toward the creation of stained glass, when he opened his own studio and glass foundry because he was unable to find the types of glass that he desired in interior decoration. His inventiveness both as a designer of windows and as a producer of the material with which to create them was to become renowned. Tiffany wanted the glass itself to transmit texture and rich colors and he developed a type of glass he called "Favrile". The glass was manufactured at the Tiffany factory...
Bronze
Tiffany Studios Damascene And Bronze Table Lamp, circa 1900
By Tiffany Studios
Located in Dallas, TX
This Tiffany Studios table lamp has a very large and beautiful gold and silver Damascene shade. The Damascene design is set against a cream colored background and the silver - gold i...
Bronze
Tiffany Studios Turtle Back Table Lamp
By Tiffany Studios
Located in Dallas, TX
Tiffany Studios Turtle Back Table lamp
Bronze
Antique Tiffany Studios 'Acorn' Table Lamp C. 1910
By Tiffany Studios
Located in Norwalk, CT
This lamp is a elegant testament to the classic Tiffany Studios design. Crafted in early 20th century, this lamp is evocative of the Art Nouveau style that Tiffany lamps are known fo...
Bronze
After synthetic dyes changed fashion, home goods and printed matter, it was only a matter of time till glass caught up.
The 1920s design is a thrilling combination of saturated colors, ancient motifs and modern aesthetics.
