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Lot Essay
Louis Comfort Tiffany and the workshops of Tiffany Studios embody the spirit of American design at the turn of the century. Tiffany worked first as a painter, and then a designer of interiors, furniture and other objects, but it was his experiments with glass that led him to create some of the most extraordinary artistic achievements of the era.
The present lot, with the iconic ‘Turtle-Back’ tiles of large molded glass with irregular surface recall a turtle’s shell. The presence of iridescence in the glass provides a richly jeweled luminescence to further captivate the viewers eye. So infatuated with this particular glass technique, Louis Comfort Tiffany chose two examples of ‘Turtle-Back’ chandeliers for his country home, Laurelton Hall, a sprawling estate and gardens of over 600 acres overlooking Oyster Bay in Long Island.
Not only is the impressive scale of this particular chandelier prominent to the viewer but so too is its striking coloration. Each ‘Turtle-Back’ tile displays a subtle reddish-orange harkening the lush flesh of a persimmon fruit which deepens to a richer and more saturated hue upon illumination akin to the delicate fruit skin. This lively and glowing color is the result of the two plated layers of glass. The ‘Turtle-Back’ with undulating surface for the exterior is wedded on the interior with a swirling pinkish-red glass tile. The interplay between these two layers emanates a sophistication of form and color. The stunning chandelier is further surmounted by a beautifully sculpted pierced crown and curling hangers.
The present lot, with the iconic ‘Turtle-Back’ tiles of large molded glass with irregular surface recall a turtle’s shell. The presence of iridescence in the glass provides a richly jeweled luminescence to further captivate the viewers eye. So infatuated with this particular glass technique, Louis Comfort Tiffany chose two examples of ‘Turtle-Back’ chandeliers for his country home, Laurelton Hall, a sprawling estate and gardens of over 600 acres overlooking Oyster Bay in Long Island.
Not only is the impressive scale of this particular chandelier prominent to the viewer but so too is its striking coloration. Each ‘Turtle-Back’ tile displays a subtle reddish-orange harkening the lush flesh of a persimmon fruit which deepens to a richer and more saturated hue upon illumination akin to the delicate fruit skin. This lively and glowing color is the result of the two plated layers of glass. The ‘Turtle-Back’ with undulating surface for the exterior is wedded on the interior with a swirling pinkish-red glass tile. The interplay between these two layers emanates a sophistication of form and color. The stunning chandelier is further surmounted by a beautifully sculpted pierced crown and curling hangers.