Tiffany Studios New York "Stalactite" Favrile Chandelier
This Tiffany Studios New York "Stalactite" chandelier is comprised of a series of seven oblong, amber-hued Favrile glass shades, decorated with a pulled feather design, hanging from a crown of patinated bronze with a brass chain and pole system, embellished with ancient motifs. The shape of these Favrile glass shades was meant to serve as a foil to the shape of the “muqarnas” (oblong indentations) found in traditional Muslim architecture, which designer Louis Comfort Tiffany used to decorate his home, reflecting his deep love of Northern Africa and Southern Spain.
- Product Details
- Curator's Notes
Item #: L-19309
Artist: Tiffany Studios New York
Circa: 1900
Size: 32” diameter (full chandelier), 53” height (full chandelier with fixture)
Materials: Favrile glass, Bronze
Shades Signed: Central Shade - "S6742," Outer Shades - "S4480, S4488, S4495, S4497, S4499, S4506"
Literature: Similar chandelier pictured in Tiffany Lamps and Metalware: An illustrated reference to over 2000 models, by Alastair Duncan, Woodbridge, Suffolk: Antique Collectors' Club, 1988, p. 299, plate 1186
Louis Comfort Tiffany was inspired to travel to the Near East by Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad, before he had begun his true foray into working with glass. While abroad, Tiffany painted many scenes of Tangiers en plein air, several of which hung in his home for many years, and later styled the grand center of his home at Laurelton Hall to mirror the Court of the Lions at La Alhambra in Southern Spain—all demonstrating the importance of this aesthetic to him personally.