TIFFANY STUDIOS | "Arrowhead" Table Lamp

with a rare "Cattail Pond Lily" base

Virginia Family Collection
Christie's New York, June 6, 1992, lot 294
Macklowe Gallery, New York

Dr. Egon Neustadt, The Lamps of Tiffany, New York, 1970, p. 99 (for the identical shade and base pairing)
Alastair Duncan, Tiffany At Auction, New York, 1981, pp. 65 and 88 (for the base) and 106 (for the shade)
William Feldstein, Jr. and Alastair Duncan, The Lamps of Tiffany Studios, New York, 1983, p. 133 (for the base)
Robert Koch, Louis C. Tiffany's Glass, Bronzes, Lamps: A Complete Collector's Guide, New York, 1989, p. 125 (for the identical shade and base pairing)
Robert Koch, Louis C. Tiffany: The Collected Works of Robert Koch, Atglen, PA, 2001, p. 236 (for the identical shade and base pairing)
Martin Eidelberg, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Nancy A. McClelland and Lars Rachen, The Lamps of Louis Comfort Tiffany, New York, 2005, pp. 163 (for the base) and 175 (for the identical shade and base pairing)
Alastair Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2007, pp. 47 (for the identical shade and base pairing) and 152 (for the shade)
Martin Eidelberg, Nina Gray and Margaret K. Hofer, A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls, exh. cat., New York Historical Society, 2007, p. 54 (for the identical shade and base pairing)
David A. Hanks, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Treasures from the Driehaus Collection, New York, 2013, p. 53 (for the base)
Margaret K. Hofer and Rebecca Klassen, The Lamps of Tiffany Studios: Nature Illuminated, New York, 2016, p. 47 (for the identical shade and base pairing)

Overall in very good condition. The shade is executed in a highly naturalistic palette, with rich, subdued blue-greens articulating the leaves and cream-colored flowers selectively executed with rippled glass with vibrant orange centers. The background passages gradate from vivid aqua to shamrock green, and the shade is accented by a geometric border executed entirely in rippled, translucent sapphire blue glass with yellow striations. The shade with approximately 7 hairline cracks dispersed throughout, stable. The shade with some surface soiling concentrated to the contours adjacent to the leadlines. The rare and sculptural "Cattail Pond Lily" base is in very good condition, displaying a rich brown patina. The bronze surfaces with some occasional minor surface scratches, abrasions, and some minor traces of oxidation and surface soiling and residue to the recessed contours of the cattails and lily pads consistent with age and gentle handling. With a period oil canister displaying a later electrical conversion outfitted with period sockets and paddle switches. With a period finial in very good condition with scattered minor surface scratches and abrasions. The finial lacks a provision for secure attachment to the lamp and therefore rests on the shade’s upper aperture. A superb example of this quintessential shade and base pairing.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present lamp is a testimony Tiffany Studios’ mastery of their two primary mediums: glass and bronze. The “Arrowhead” shade depicts a conventionalized scheme of soft white arrowhead blossoms and vibrant emerald leaves, which is accented by two lower geometric registers of deep sapphire rippled glass with subtle yellow striations. The superb glass selection captures the vibrancy and variety of the plant seen in nature. Thematically, the motif of the arrowhead flower—a wetland plant—pairs beautifully with the “Cattail Pond Lily” base. Compared to the shade, the expertly cast bronze base is more directly representational: the layered, softly undulating lily pads give rise to a bouquet of tall marsh grass. Discontinued by 1910, this rare base model is exemplary of the highly artistic metalwork that Tiffany Studios created at the pinnacle of the firm’s production. As a unit, the shade and base together create a lyrical, picturesque landscape, showcasing Tiffany’s embrace of nature as his muse and making tangible the beauty of flora in glass and bronze.