Peony Table Lamp

c. 1905–15

Peony Table Lamp, c. 1905–15. Probably by Clara Wolcott Driscoll (American, 1861–1944), Tiffany Studios (American, New York, 1902–1932). Leaded glass, bronze, ceramic; overall: 61 cm (24 in.); diameter of base: 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.); width of shade: 45.7 cm (18 in.); with shade: 61 cm (24 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Charles Maurer 2018.274 In the 1870s a renewed emphasis on natural landscapes ushered in a generation of cottage gardeners who delighted in planting perennials in large quantities. Louis Comfort Tiffany was among those who championed the lush, sometimes wild-looking displays of varied floral species in the garden at his Long Island estate, Laurelton Hall. Tiffany encouraged his designers to take inspiration from his garden by shipping fresh cuttings almost weekly to his studios. Ohio native Clara Wolcott Driscoll and her team of female designers created floral patterns for lamps and mosaics based on the colorful blooms of spring that became among the most sought after and commercially successful of Tiffany’s production. The base of this lamp looks like it is made of metal, but it is really just a ceramic base painted to look like bronze.