TIFFANY STUDIOS | "ELABORATE PEONY" TABLE LAMP

For the shade:

Christie's New York, November 15, 1980, lot 461

Private Collection

Christie's New York, December 10, 1998, lot 376

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Dr. Egon Neustadt, The Lamps of Tiffany, New York, 1970, p. 147 (for the base)

Alastair Duncan, Tiffany At Auction, New York, 1981, p. 105, no. 282 (for the present shade illustrated)

William Feldstein, Jr. and Alastair Duncan, The Lamps of Tiffany Studios, New York, 1983, p. 33 (for the shade and base pairing)

Alastair Duncan, Martin Eidelberg and Neil Harris, Masterworks of Louis Comfort Tiffany, London, 1989, p. 108 (for the shade and base pairing)

Alastair Duncan, Fin de Siècle Masterpieces from the Silverman Collection, New York, 1989, p. 37 (for the shade and base pairing)

Robert Koch, Louis C. Tiffany's Glass, Bronzes, Lamps: A Complete Collector's Guide, New York, 1989, p. 129 (for the base)

Robert Koch, Louis C. Tiffany: The Collected Works of Robert Koch, Atglen, PA, 2001, pp. 241 and 282 (for the base)

Martin Eidelberg, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Nancy A. McClelland and Lars Rachen, The Lamps of Louis Comfort Tiffany, New York, 2005, p. 156 (for the shade and base pairing)

Alastair Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2007, p. 106, nos. 426-427 (for the base) and p. 182, no. 719 (for the shade)

Margaret K. Hofer and Rebecca Klassen, The Lamps of Tiffany Studios: Nature Illuminated, New York, 2016, p. 70 (for the base)

"King of Flowers"

Tiffany's "Elaborate Peony" Lamp

The peony blossom, with its extraordinary lushness and variation in color palette, was the ideal subject for Tiffany’s leaded glass shades and was represented in a few variations by the firm. The earlier iterations of the floral motif are attributed to Clara Driscoll and display a cheerful but more simplified pattern compared to the later “Elaborate Peony” model, seen in the present lot. The introduction of this complex and highly artistic shade model in 1910, when many other floral shade patterns were being discontinued, underscores Tiffany’s admiration for this springtime flower. One of the firm’s most naturalistic shade designs, the Elaborate Peony features both buds and full, mature blossoms. Showing both the fully-bloomed and yet-to-bloom flower imbues the composition with an impressionistic quality, as if to capture a single, fleeting moment in nature. Beyond its innate beauty, the peony would have also had great cultural and symbolic appeal for Tiffany. A popular motif in Eastern art, which Tiffany revered and was an important source of inspiration in his work, the peony was thought to signify strength and was considered the “King of Flowers.”

The notion of strength is certainly evoked in the present example of the Elaborate Peony shade and it’s complementary reticulated “Arch and Leaf” base. As a unit, the lamp displays impressive sculptural presence, scale and elegant proportions. The bold and diverse color palette, ranging from deep crimson to vivid magenta and offset by a rich azure background, imparts the shade with exceptional dynamism. The sensitive and highly artistic glass selection, especially in the articulation of the layered peony petals, creates a profound sense of pictorial depth. This dimensionality is carried through to the base, with its organic lines and tactile surface. The reticulated design of the cast bronze combined with its graceful silhouette is incredibly successful: as a result, the base is both robust, occupying a considerable volume, but also retains a delicacy and naturalism in its sculptural details. Its refined artistry and stature make the Arch and Leaf base one of the most favored and highly desirable pairings for the iconic Elaborate Peony shade.