Tiffany Studios New York "Tulip" Table Lamp

In this exquisite Tiffany studios table lamp, a bed of three clusters of vibrant red tulips, swaying in the breeze beneath an open ultramarine sky, offers a “field mouse view” of blossoms and leaves in varying stages of bloom. Native to Central Asia and Iran, the tulip captured Louis Comfort Tiffany’s imagination during his early travels through Persia and the Ottoman Empire. There, he encountered the tragic love story of Farhad and Shirin—a tale in which red tulips sprang from the lovers’ spilled blood. This legend left a lasting impression on Tiffany, who later cultivated red tulips along the blue gravel drive of his Long Island estate, Laurelton Hall. He so revered the flower that he made it the symbol of spring in his famed Four Seasons window panels, exhibited at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris and later displayed in his home, adorned with fresh tulips from his gardens. The shade sits on a patinated bronze bump base.
Category: Floral New Acquisitions Table Lamps Tiffany Lamps Tiffany Studios New York
Product Details

Item #: L-22214
Artist: Tiffany Studios New York
Country: United States
Circa: 1900's
Dimensions: 14" diameter, 22" height.
Materials: Leaded Glass, Bronze
Shade Signed: Tiffany Studios New York
Base Signed: Tiffany Studios New York 546
Literature: A similar shade is pictured in: The Lamps of Tiffany, by Dr. Egon Neustadt, New York: The Fairfield Press, 1970, p. 136, plate 193; and in: Tiffany Lamps and Metalware: An illustrated reference to over 2000 models, by Alastair Duncan, Woodbridge: Suffolk: Antique Collectors' Club, 1988, p. 162, plate 668. A similar base is pictured in the latter reference: p. 75, plate 289.

Item #: L-22214
Artist: Tiffany Studios New York
Country: United States
Circa: 1900's
Dimensions: 14" diameter, 22" height.
Materials: Leaded Glass, Bronze
Shade Signed: Tiffany Studios New York
Base Signed: Tiffany Studios New York 546
Literature: A similar shade is pictured in: The Lamps of Tiffany, by Dr. Egon Neustadt, New York: The Fairfield Press, 1970, p. 136, plate 193; and in: Tiffany Lamps and Metalware: An illustrated reference to over 2000 models, by Alastair Duncan, Woodbridge: Suffolk: Antique Collectors' Club, 1988, p. 162, plate 668. A similar base is pictured in the latter reference: p. 75, plate 289.

Curator's Notes
Louis Comfort Tiffany first fell in love with the tulip as a young man during his trips to the near east. While journeying through Persia and the Ottoman empire, Tiffany learned from his guide the lore and history of the Near East. Among his favorite stories was that of Farhad and Shirin, considered by many to be Persia's Romeo and Juliet. A lowly stone cutter, Farhad had an unrequited love of the Princess Shirin, and wanted to win her heart. Farhad roamed the hills playing songs of love on his flute to Shirin. The villagers, feeling sorry for him conspired for him and Princess Shirin to meet. Princess Shirin was led into the mountain's forest by her courtesan and when she saw Farhad and heard his music, she fell in love. The sultan was discontent with this turn of events. To prevent Farhad and Shirin's union, the sultan gave Farhad an impossible task. The sultan commanded Farhad to cut through a mountain and produce a stream. Farhad dug through the mountain for years, all the while meeting with the princess in secret. Just as Farhad was to finish, the sultan sent one of his courtiers to tell Farhad that Shirin was dead. In a fit of despair, Farhad threw himself off the mountain. When Shirin saw Farhad's dead body, she too took her life, and from each drop of blood upon the earth formed a blood red tulip. It could be said that Louis Comfort Tiffany's greatest masterpiece was the grounds of his Long Island garden estate, Laurelton Hall. Along the ground's mile-long blue gravel drive, tiffany grew carefully tended beds of red tulips. Tiffany so loved the flower that when he designed his studios' renowned Four Seasons windows, exhibited at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, he chose the tulip to be the symbol of spring. After the completion of Laurelton hall in 1901, the Four Seasons windows along with vases of freshly cut red tulips decorated Tiffany's living room.
Louis Comfort Tiffany first fell in love with the tulip as a young man during his trips to the near east. While journeying through Persia and the Ottoman empire, Tiffany learned from his guide the lore and history of the Near East. Among his favorite stories was that of Farhad and Shirin, considered by many to be Persia's Romeo and Juliet. A lowly stone cutter, Farhad had an unrequited love of the Princess Shirin, and wanted to win her heart. Farhad roamed the hills playing songs of love on his flute to Shirin. The villagers, feeling sorry for him conspired for him and Princess Shirin to meet. Princess Shirin was led into the mountain's forest by her courtesan and when she saw Farhad and heard his music, she fell in love. The sultan was discontent with this turn of events. To prevent Farhad and Shirin's union, the sultan gave Farhad an impossible task. The sultan commanded Farhad to cut through a mountain and produce a stream. Farhad dug through the mountain for years, all the while meeting with the princess in secret. Just as Farhad was to finish, the sultan sent one of his courtiers to tell Farhad that Shirin was dead. In a fit of despair, Farhad threw himself off the mountain. When Shirin saw Farhad's dead body, she too took her life, and from each drop of blood upon the earth formed a blood red tulip. It could be said that Louis Comfort Tiffany's greatest masterpiece was the grounds of his Long Island garden estate, Laurelton Hall. Along the ground's mile-long blue gravel drive, tiffany grew carefully tended beds of red tulips. Tiffany so loved the flower that when he designed his studios' renowned Four Seasons windows, exhibited at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, he chose the tulip to be the symbol of spring. After the completion of Laurelton hall in 1901, the Four Seasons windows along with vases of freshly cut red tulips decorated Tiffany's living room.
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