Lotus (or Water-lily) table lamp

Lotus (or Water-lily) table lamp, 1904–15
Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933)
American
Tiffany Studios (1902–1938)
Leaded Favrile glass with bronze base,
H. 26 1/2 in. base; 14 5/8 in. shade (67.3; 37.2 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh J. Grant, 1974 (1974.214.15a,b)

This is one of Tiffany's most effective floral lamps, with its subtly toned buds and blossoms cascading from the shade crown to its irregular border formed by creamy color-tinged petals. A variety of glass was used to replicate the color and texture of both the flower and the watery bog, seen in the translucent rippled blue glass between the pink opalescent stems. The organic character of the lamp is accentuated by the bronze support, which replicates broad, flat lily pads clustered around a base with climbing stems that disappear into the blossomed shade.