WISTERIA!
INFO FROM THE MORSE MUSEUM
This lamp is not only incredibly beautiful and an amazing amount of work, it was turning point for the Tiffany Studios. In 1902, there was an event in Turin, Italy called the Prima Esposizione, Internazionale d’Arte Decorative Moderna. This event put an emphasis on the aesthetic renewal of everyday objects. Tiffany Studios received a grand prize at this event. One of the designs for the award was for the Wisteria Library Lamp. Electricity was now available. Before electricity, the lamp bases had to serve as containers for oil and limited the design. This transformed a previously utilitarian device in an electrified sculpture. Take a close look at the top of the lamp. There is an intricate bronze vine working its way down the design of the lamp. Just beautiful. This shade was designed by Clara Driscoll, who was the supervisor in the Women’s Glass Cutting Department. Follow this link to learn more about Clara Driscoll. http://morsemuseum.org/louis-comfort-tiffany/tiffany-studios-designers. Wisteria has more than 2,000 pieces which, of course, were hand cut. The wisteria was a popular spring blooming vine in the 19th-century American gardens and loved by Louis Comfort Tiffany. He planted them in abundance at his Long Island estate called Laurelton Hall.