Tiffany Studios New York Single "Stalactite" Pendant Favrile Glass Light Fixture
$24,500
Inspired by ornamental forms of Moorish architecture, this Tiffany Studios “Stalactite” light fixture in favrile glass dates from the early 20th century, and is suspended from a later patinated bronze pole system furnished by a contemporary artisan working in the Tiffany Studio style. When illuminated, the elongated shade in golden glass grading toward a brown tip is highlighted by orange and dark golden pulled feather motifs resolving into curlicues. Unlit, the golden glass is shaded across its body with subtle green hues and iridescence. The later patinated bronze pole diverges into multiple gently meandering branches joined to the crown via spiral devices. Intriguing in form, dichroism, and motifs, this refined fixture casts a gentle and inviting golden light.
In today’s world nearly all Tiffany chandeliers are lacking original Tiffany hardware or any Tiffany hanging parts at all. In some cases the chandeliers were originally made with kerosene lighting that was discarded with the widespread adoption of electricity. More frequently, original Tiffany hanging parts were left behind when the shades were taken to a new residence. Referencing an original Tiffany design found in historical literature, we brought the light back to its former glory as a chandelier, with a handmade suspension mechanism.
- Product Details
- Curator's Notes
Item #: L-20234
Artist: Tiffany Studios New York
Country: United States
Circa: 1898-1918 (with later patinated bronze pole system)
Size: 6" diameter, 36" high.
Materials: Leaded Glass, Bronze
Shade signed: ''S672''.
Literature: A similar fixture is pictured in: Tiffany Lamps and Metalware: An illustrated reference to over 2000 models, by Alastair Duncan, Woodbridge: Suffolk: Antique Collectors’ Club, 1988, p. 296, plate 1173.
Louis Tiffany favored these pendant lighting fixtures in his own home on Long Island, Laurelton Hall, on Cold Spring Harbor, where they hung in the domed fountain court inspired by the Moorish architecture of Spain. Tiffany avoided imitative work, but derived inspiration from diverse sources, including the mosque interiors of Spain and North Africa. Mocárabe, the archetypal Islamic honeycomb vaulting highlighted by pendant forms, serves to transition the walls of a mosque to its dome, and the pendant elements of this vaulting, or “stalactites”, loosely inspired these lighting fixtures. Ever concerned with artistic unity, Tiffany may also have employed these organic form pendant fixtures to link his interiors with the cultivated natural exteriors surrounding them, such as the hanging gardens and vine covered walls of Laurelton Hall.