Tiffany Studios

Sotheby’s New York, December 1, 1990, lot 875

Macklowe Gallery, New York

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Dr. Egon Neustadt, The Lamps of Tiffany, New York, 1970, pp. 151-153 (for the shade)

William Feldstein, Jr. and Alastair Duncan, The Lamps of Tiffany Studios, New York, 1983, pp. 16-17

Alastair Duncan, Louis C. Tiffany: The Garden Museum Collection, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2004, pp. 19 (for an in situ photograph of the shade) and 301 (for the shade)

Martin Eidelberg, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Nancy A. McClelland and Lars Rachen, The Lamps of Louis Comfort Tiffany, New York, 2005, pp. 154-155 (for the shade)

Martin Eidelberg, Nina Gray and Margaret K. Hofer, A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls, London, 2007, p. 46 (for the shade)

David A. Hanks, Louis Comfort Tiffany: Treasures from the Driehaus Collection, exh. cat., The Richard H. Driehaus Museum, 2013, pp. 60-64

Alastair Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2019, pp. 175, no. 706 and 708, 83, no. 312-313 and 238, no. 944 (for the shade); 124, no. 482 (for the base)

Beyond their lush beauty, the peony possessed cultural and symbolic appeal to Louis Comfort Tiffany. Asian art was a major source of inspiration for Tiffany, and peonies’ vibrant blossoms are thought to signify strength and considered the “King of Flowers” in many Asian traditions. Tiffany introduced this complex and highly artistic shade model in 1910, in a time when many other floral shade patterns were being discontinued, underscoring Tiffany’s admiration for the springtime flower. Ever in pursuit of naturalistic botanical imagery, in this model Tiffany portrays peonies in various stages of growth, from fresh buds to full blooms.

The present “Peony” table lamp is a beautiful example of the model with expressive glass selections in a rich and sophisticated palette. The blossoms in the present lot range from a deep raspberry and fuchsia to lively scarlet and rose pink on a swirling ground of dusty cobalt and orange, which gives the effect of peonies blowing in a sunset breeze. The shade is perched atop a scrolled “Louis XIV” base adorned with swirling foliate motifs, evoking a French 17th-century garden.