A MASTERPIECE FROM THE SILVERMAN COLLECTION
TIFFANY STUDIOS
Rare and Important 'Apple Blossom' Table Lamp, circa 1904
Details
TIFFANY STUDIOS
Rare and Important 'Apple Blossom' Table Lamp, circa 1904
designed by Clara Driscoll
with a 'Tree' base
leaded glass, patinated bronze
26 1⁄2 in. (67.3 cm) high, 18 in. (45.7 cm) diameter of shade
shade impressed 8021
base impressed TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK 8021
Rare and Important 'Apple Blossom' Table Lamp, circa 1904
designed by Clara Driscoll
with a 'Tree' base
leaded glass, patinated bronze
26 1⁄2 in. (67.3 cm) high, 18 in. (45.7 cm) diameter of shade
shade impressed 8021
base impressed TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK 8021
Provenance
Sotheby’s, New York, 9-10 December 1975, lot 240
Private Midwest Collection
Acquired from the above by the present owner, circa 2004
Private Midwest Collection
Acquired from the above by the present owner, circa 2004
Literature
E. Neustadt, The Lamps of Tiffany, New York, 1970, pp. 208, no. 279 (for the example in the collection of The Neustadt Gallery at the Queens Museum) and 280 (for the example in the collection of the New York Historical Society)
W. Feldstein and A. Duncan, The Lamps of Tiffany Studios, New York, 1983, p. 15 (for the example in the collection of Museum Wiesbaden)
P. Forster, Ruf des Progressiven: Jugendstil und Symbolismus im Museum Wiesbaden, 2019, p. 518, no. L77 (for the example in the collection of Museum Wiesbaden)
W. Uecker, Art Nouveau and Art Deco Lamps and Candlesticks, London, 1986, p. 177, no. 391.
M. K. Hofer and R. Klassen, The Lamps of Tiffany Studios: Nature Illuminated, New York, 2016, p. 91, no. 48 (for the example in the collection of the New York Historical Society)
A. Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Suffolk, 2019, pp. 78, no. 289 and 91, no. 349
W. Feldstein and A. Duncan, The Lamps of Tiffany Studios, New York, 1983, p. 15 (for the example in the collection of Museum Wiesbaden)
P. Forster, Ruf des Progressiven: Jugendstil und Symbolismus im Museum Wiesbaden, 2019, p. 518, no. L77 (for the example in the collection of Museum Wiesbaden)
W. Uecker, Art Nouveau and Art Deco Lamps and Candlesticks, London, 1986, p. 177, no. 391.
M. K. Hofer and R. Klassen, The Lamps of Tiffany Studios: Nature Illuminated, New York, 2016, p. 91, no. 48 (for the example in the collection of the New York Historical Society)
A. Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Suffolk, 2019, pp. 78, no. 289 and 91, no. 349
Further details
"All of us are temporary custodians of the art we love – works that existed long before we were born and that are destined to survive long after us,” wrote Benedict Silverman in the introduction of Fin de Siècle Masterpieces from the Silverman Collection, describing what prompted him to build one of the most important Art Nouveau collections. The exceptional ‘Apple Blossom’ presented here was acquired by Benedict Silverman in 2004, after having been auctioned at Sotheby’s in 1975.
Six examples of the ‘Apple Blossom’ Lamp are known to exist, including the present lot: three reside in permanent museum collections, the New York Historical Society, the Neustadt Gallery at the Queens Museum, New York, and the Museum Wiesbaden in Germany (former collection of legendary collector Ferdinand Neess). Two other known examples are in private collections, one of them sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 14 June 2008, for $932,500. Amongst these extant lamps, the present lot is one of the finest due to its artistic glass selection, featuring an extraordinary “confetti” glass background with bright red, delicate pink and pearlescent apple blossoms. Like the iconic ‘Wisteria’, Clara Driscoll (1861-1944) would have designed this shade and overseen the glass selection. The present example displays a strong synergy between its “Tree” base and shade, the latter comprising superb metalwork and intricate arrangements of leaded glass evocative of the Japonesque and Impressionist aesthetics that influenced Tiffany’s creations and that were reminiscent of the blooming apple trees which he grew at Laurelton Hall, his house on Long Island.
Six examples of the ‘Apple Blossom’ Lamp are known to exist, including the present lot: three reside in permanent museum collections, the New York Historical Society, the Neustadt Gallery at the Queens Museum, New York, and the Museum Wiesbaden in Germany (former collection of legendary collector Ferdinand Neess). Two other known examples are in private collections, one of them sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 14 June 2008, for $932,500. Amongst these extant lamps, the present lot is one of the finest due to its artistic glass selection, featuring an extraordinary “confetti” glass background with bright red, delicate pink and pearlescent apple blossoms. Like the iconic ‘Wisteria’, Clara Driscoll (1861-1944) would have designed this shade and overseen the glass selection. The present example displays a strong synergy between its “Tree” base and shade, the latter comprising superb metalwork and intricate arrangements of leaded glass evocative of the Japonesque and Impressionist aesthetics that influenced Tiffany’s creations and that were reminiscent of the blooming apple trees which he grew at Laurelton Hall, his house on Long Island.
Brought to you by
Daphné Riou
SVP, Senior Specialist, Head of Americas