Tiffany Studios

Benjamin Walworth Arnold Jr., Albany, New York, circa 1910
Dorothy Treat Arnold Cogswell
Dr. Joseph G. and Cornelia Cogswell Rossi
Independent Appraisers and Auctioneers, Pawling, New York, May 15, 2004, lot 41
The Geyer Collection
Sotheby's New York, The Geyer Collection: Masterworks of Tiffany and Prewar Design, December 11, 2018, lot 66
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Robert Koch, Louis C Tiffany's Glass, Bronzes, Lamps: A Complete Collector's Guide, New York, 1989, p. 128 (for the base)
Robert Koch, Louis C. Tiffany: The Collected Works of Robert Koch, Atglen, PA, 2001, p. 241 (for the base)
Alastair Duncan, Louis C. Tiffany: The Garden Museum Collection, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2004, p. 282 (for the base)
Martin Eidelberg, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Nancy A. McClelland and Lars Rachen, The Lamps of Louis Comfort Tiffany, New York, 2005, pp. 62 and 141 (for the shade); p. 116 (for the base)
Margaret K. Hofer and Rebecca Klassen, The Lamps of Tiffany Studios: Nature Illuminated, New York, 2016, p. 89 (for the base)
Alastair Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2019, pp. 85, no. 323 and 173, no. 698 (for the shade); p. 107, no. 415 (for the base)

The "Bird Skeleton" model highlights Louis Comfort Tiffany’s interest in designs that were inspired by the natural world. With its sinuous curves and biomorphic architecture, the abstract form of the "Bird Skeleton" base references the delicate anatomy of a bird. This naturalistic tendency is in part rooted in the affinity for cataloging flora and fauna, which flourished in the 19th century—a time when many natural history museums were founded in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Osteology of Birds, published by the noted ornithologist R. W. Shufeldt in the early 20th century, was a historical source of ornithological study for both the Smithsonian and the American Museum of Natural History. Tiffany reinterprets and abstracts the skeletal form to give an evocative sense of the natural, eschewing scientific accuracy for rhythmic verticality and visually suggesting natural sinews, joints, and bones.

The execution of such a complex design was surely a tremendous feat for the firm. When the "Bird Skeleton" model was first mentioned in the firm's 1906 Price List, the base was originally offered for the comparatively large sum of $90.00, attesting to the expense of casting such an intricate construction. In the present lot, this spectacular base is enhanced by the especially complementary pairing with the naturalistic glass selection of this "Daffodil" shade. It is further distinguished by its historical provenance: this lamp was originally acquired directly from the firm by Benjamin Walworth Arnold of Albany, New York, and it descended in the Arnold family until its acquisition by the Geyer Family.