"Hanging Head Dragonfly" table lamp
Clara Driscoll
(American, 1861–1944)
Tiffany Studios
(1900–1932)
Louis Comfort Tiffany
(American, 1848–1933)
about 1905-1910
Object PlaceNew York, New York
Medium/TechniqueFavrile glass and patinated bronze
DimensionsOverall: 84.1 x 57.2 cm (33 1/8 x 22 1/2 in.)
Credit LineWilliam Francis Warden Fund, Frank B. Bemis Fund, John H. and Ernestine A. Payne Fund, Arthur Tracy Cabot Fund, Edwin E. Jack Fund, Morris and Louise Rosenthal Fund, Helen and Alice Colburn Fund, Harriet Otis Cruft Fund, Arthur Mason Knapp Fund, Ernest Kahn Fund, Helen B. Sweeney Fund, John Wheelock Elliot and John Morse Elliot Fund, and Alice M. Barlett Fund
Accession number2012.990.1-3
On View
On viewClassificationsGlass
Collections
Around 1898 Louis Comfort Tiffany’s design firm began creating lamps wired for electricity that featured colorful shades of patented Favrile glass. Known for its subtle variations in color and texture, Favrile glass could be carefully selected and arranged to form a picture or an image. Tiffany’s love of color and design harmony can be seen in the combination of this magnificent Hanging Head Dragonfly shade with the dramatic mosaic base with iridescent “turtleback” glass tiles. The amber-colored cabochon bubbles twinkle when lit, giving the effect of movement to the beady-eyed dragonflies and their delicately cut bronze filigree wings. Tiffany probably designed the Dragonfly shade in collaboration with Clara Driscoll, the head of the Women’s Glass Cutting Department at Tiffany Studios.
ProvenanceShade: By 1989, owned by Tiffany collector Harvey Weinstein, New York; 1989, acquired by Mr. Takeo Horiuchi of Japan for The Louis C. Tiffany Garden Museum
Base: By 1989, owned by Leonard Trent, New York; 1989, acquired from Trent by Japanese collector Hajime Funabashi, Tokyo, Japan; late 1990s, acquired by Mr. Takeo Horiuchi of Japan for The Louis C. Tiffany Garden Museum
Both: 2012, sold together by Horiuchi and The Louis C. Tiffany Garden Museum to Allen Michaan, Tiffany collector and auction house owner, Alameda, California; 2012, sold by Michaan to the MFA, via Sotheby's New York. (Accession date: December 12, 2012)
Base: By 1989, owned by Leonard Trent, New York; 1989, acquired from Trent by Japanese collector Hajime Funabashi, Tokyo, Japan; late 1990s, acquired by Mr. Takeo Horiuchi of Japan for The Louis C. Tiffany Garden Museum
Both: 2012, sold together by Horiuchi and The Louis C. Tiffany Garden Museum to Allen Michaan, Tiffany collector and auction house owner, Alameda, California; 2012, sold by Michaan to the MFA, via Sotheby's New York. (Accession date: December 12, 2012)
