Poppy Table Lamp

A Tiffany Studios leaded glass and bronze Poppy Table Lamp, probably designed by Clara Driscoll, famed Tiffany Girl and manager of the Women’s Glass Cutting Department at Tiffany Studios. The Poppy shades utilize pierced brass filigree to create a sense of depth. The brass filigree used to articulate the veins of the leaves along the lower edge of the shade is placed behind mottled green glass, mimicking the transparency of a delicate leaf, while the flower’s center is formed by a piece of filigree placed on the surface of the glass with a linear design representing various elements of the pistil.

This example of the shade depicts red, pink and blue striated poppies in various stages of development, the glass carefully selected to suggest the three-dimensionality of the petals and buds, the centers of the flowers articulated in green, blue and pink streaky glass, with a horizontal band of overlapping leaves in shades of pale green along the lower edge. The motif stands out against a background ranging from pale yellow near the crown to soft amber streaked with orange, with thin borders formed by mottled green glass at the upper and lower edges.

The shade is paired with bronze Decorated Cushion table base in rich brown/green patina with intricate applied wirework and chased decoration.

This original Tiffany Lamp features a reticulated metal heat cap in matching finish. Both the shade and base are signed.

A preparatory study for the Poppy shade, likely executed by Tiffany Girl Alice Gouvy under Driscoll’s direction, is in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (67.655.7).