Moorish Table Lamp

Moorish Table Lamp
Tiffany Studios
circa 1905

Some of the first Tiffany Lamps designed in the 1890s were oil lamps which incorporated blown Tiffany Favrile Glass into the base or shade. The bases of these early Tiffany Lamps typically feature bodies of blown Tiffany Favrile Glass, intended to conceal a wide fuel canister, accented by decorative metalwork taking inspiration from Moorish designs. These lamps were more expensive to produce, requiring fine craftsmanship in addition to a variety of costly production processes. Tiffany Studios manufactured “Moorish” lamps alongside the leaded glass Tiffany Lamps into the early 20th century, though due to cost many of the more elaborate designs were discontinued after 1910.

This exceptional example features a base formed by blown Tiffany Glass in a soft shade of green with vertical striations of a paler green. The glass is mounted on the shoulder with a bronze collar in the original rich brown patina with scalloped beaded edge. The collar features coiled wirework and beaded decoration harmonizing with the hanging beaded fringe suspended below the shade. The base supports a domed shade of blown Tiffany Glass in a warm white tone, offering a golden glow when illuminated. The shade features a bronze overlay of a scrolling motif formed by thin bronze wires, echoing the decoration on the base, with an upper and lower rim formed by alternating rows of twisted wires and beads.

Tiffany Studios included a photographic reproduction of this particular lamp model in an advertisement for “Tiffany Lamps & Electroliers” placed in the January 1906 edition of The International Studio: An Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art, a popular design periodical, attesting to the company’s confidence in the style.

Height: 22 inches
(55.9 cm)
Diameter: 16 inches
(40.6 cm)

Related example illustrated:

Alastair Duncan, Tiffany at Auction, New York, 1981, p. 256