Tiffany Studios

Collection of Maude B. Feld, New York

Thence by descent to Alan W. Feld and Suzanne C. Feld, 1995

Alastair Duncan, Tiffany: Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2007, p. 414 (for the model)

Robert Koch, Louis C. Tiffany: The Collected Works of Robert Koch, New York, 2001, p. 122 (for the model)

Alastair Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2019, p. 504, no. 2034 (for the model)

At the turn of the century, consumers began to embrace electric over traditional kerosene lamps. This prompted Tiffany Studios to introduce a series of lamp screens into its repertoire, which were designed to further diffuse the relatively harsh glow of electric bulbs. The screens took the forms of charming creatures such as dragonflies, moths and, in this rare instance, a nymph with butterfly wings.

Although the bronze is unsigned, Robert Koch asserted in his Louis C. Tiffany: Rebel in Glass, that Alphonse Mucha should be credited with the design. Mucha wrote that he visited Laurelton Hall and Tiffany Studios in 1904 and again in 1906, claiming that “they have been working from my designs for many years.” This hybrid creature, apparently derived from one of Mucha’s drawings in his Documents Décoratifs (1901), was a popular motif during the time, encapsulating the sensuality and fantasy of the Art Nouveau style. Though conceived as an accessory, the fine casting of the female figure, stunning glass selection and skillful leadwork make this lamp screen a superb example of Tiffany’s unparalleled artistry.