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Lot Essay
The present lamp exemplifies the genius of Tiffany and his craftsmanship with both metal and glass. This mesmerizing work pairs Tiffany’s celebrated Dragonfly lamp shade with an early, experimental base incorporating a blown glass body with an intricately designed bronze and pebble stone crown. A technical masterpiece, the lamp additionally shares a closer tie to the history of the artist and the Studios behind it.
Edwin Ernest Hayward, Sr., the Manager of the Ecclesiastical Department at Tiffany Studios, originally owned this lamp and was passed down through generations after him. He was born in Birmingham, England and had immigrated to the United States with his family in the late nineteenth century where they settled in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. At the around the age of ten, Edwin embarked on his career with Tiffany Studios as a sweeper of glass shards at the 46 West 23rd Street location. Showing potential and growing as a skilled artisan, Hayward was appointed to Manager of the Ecclesiastical Department and worked there until the firm closed in 1933.
Following the death of Edwin Hayward's eldest son in 1934, his daughter-in-law and grandson, Richard E. Hayward, moved to the Bronx in New York. Richard Hayward continued to visit his grandparents regularly despite the newfound distance between them. Richard recalled his grandparents’ house and their “very large and long living room.” He particularly remembered the present Dragonfly lamp because of its “place of honor” as “either on its own pedestal as you entered the head of this living room, or standing on a large round table that was in the middle of the room.” As Richard grew older, he remembered visiting the basement on occasion with his grandfather where “he would show me a small lamp or other small item that he was working on using ‘scraps’ of Tiffany glass that he had taken home over the years”, which was done with Mr. Tiffany’s permission as he understood. Numerous works by Tiffany Studios decorated the other rooms of the house as well.
Cecilia Waern's description of Tiffany in 1897 resonates with this particular piece:
“But Mr. Tiffany does not belong to the great American school of tracing paper that claims so many architects for its own. In the true eclectic spirit, old objects are with-out hesitation incorporated into the scheme of decoration" (“The Industrial Arts of America: The Tiffany Glass and Decorative Co.,” The Studio, August 1897).
Such was said just before introducing the readers to Tiffany’s window made of “translucent beach pebbles and metal filigree” and later a door panel with opalescent glass and beach pebbles. Similarly, the crown of the present base is uniquely decorated with hand-selected pebbles, inset to filigree mounts surrounded by raveled wirework. The twisted wires and bronze balls recall Tiffany’s work in the Henry O. Havemeyer House at 1 East Sixty-sixth Street, New York. Completed in 1892, the house featured fantastical lighting by Tiffany executed in the same elaborate bronze wires enhanced by glass cabochons. Even the interior of the front doors were decorated with this complex filigree inset with pebbles bordering leaded glass tiles. These works exemplified Tiffany’s fascination of Byzantine art, characterized by detailed decoration, intricate metalwork, and lavish gold backgrounds.
Between the crown and the rounded, ball feet is an elegantly hand-blown Favrile glass base with subtle ribbing along the sides. The glass presents as a deep emerald green, nearly black upon first glance, but with jewel like tones while illuminated. This type of base was first created as a fuel, or oil lamp, before being converted to electricity. Tiffany showed this base model at the Salon l’Art Nouveau in Paris in 1898 as pictured in the Dekorative Kunst from the same year.
Cecilia Waern had noted that these lamps were “a complete revolution of style.” She went on, “No two pieces of Favrile being exactly alike, each design has to be individually considered, and the hand-wrought metal made to follow all the caprices of the material; for instance, all the little dents and curves round the mouth of the vase, into which the well is sunk. The charm of direct contact with the material has worked in another way too, and the aim is to let the metal interfere as little as possible with the wonderful beauty of the glass. Much thought has of necessity to be expended keeping the two materials in proper relation to each other” (The Studio, August 1897). This combination of materials wasn’t reserved only for the base, the shades also implemented elaborate designs of metal filigree and selected glass, as seen in the example from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 2011.9.2).
The Dragonfly shade suits this base handsomely with fine filigree wings and a majestic selection Tiffany’s Favrile glass. Stylized dragonflies decorate the border of the shade, seemingly flying through the sky in tones of aquamarine, cerulean, gold, orange and peach. The shade is topped with a heat cap decorated with a beaded border, bringing the lamp together from top to bottom. The artistry of Tiffany is evident in each element, with an equally apparent mastery of craft in glass as well as metalwork.
In 1998, the present lamp was offered at Christie’s by Richard Hayward with this impressive provenance where it was sold for $255,500. It is now offered again from a private collection, presenting collectors with a unique opportunity to acquire an exceptional piece of Tiffany Studios history.
Edwin Ernest Hayward, Sr., the Manager of the Ecclesiastical Department at Tiffany Studios, originally owned this lamp and was passed down through generations after him. He was born in Birmingham, England and had immigrated to the United States with his family in the late nineteenth century where they settled in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. At the around the age of ten, Edwin embarked on his career with Tiffany Studios as a sweeper of glass shards at the 46 West 23rd Street location. Showing potential and growing as a skilled artisan, Hayward was appointed to Manager of the Ecclesiastical Department and worked there until the firm closed in 1933.
Following the death of Edwin Hayward's eldest son in 1934, his daughter-in-law and grandson, Richard E. Hayward, moved to the Bronx in New York. Richard Hayward continued to visit his grandparents regularly despite the newfound distance between them. Richard recalled his grandparents’ house and their “very large and long living room.” He particularly remembered the present Dragonfly lamp because of its “place of honor” as “either on its own pedestal as you entered the head of this living room, or standing on a large round table that was in the middle of the room.” As Richard grew older, he remembered visiting the basement on occasion with his grandfather where “he would show me a small lamp or other small item that he was working on using ‘scraps’ of Tiffany glass that he had taken home over the years”, which was done with Mr. Tiffany’s permission as he understood. Numerous works by Tiffany Studios decorated the other rooms of the house as well.
Cecilia Waern's description of Tiffany in 1897 resonates with this particular piece:
“But Mr. Tiffany does not belong to the great American school of tracing paper that claims so many architects for its own. In the true eclectic spirit, old objects are with-out hesitation incorporated into the scheme of decoration" (“The Industrial Arts of America: The Tiffany Glass and Decorative Co.,” The Studio, August 1897).
Such was said just before introducing the readers to Tiffany’s window made of “translucent beach pebbles and metal filigree” and later a door panel with opalescent glass and beach pebbles. Similarly, the crown of the present base is uniquely decorated with hand-selected pebbles, inset to filigree mounts surrounded by raveled wirework. The twisted wires and bronze balls recall Tiffany’s work in the Henry O. Havemeyer House at 1 East Sixty-sixth Street, New York. Completed in 1892, the house featured fantastical lighting by Tiffany executed in the same elaborate bronze wires enhanced by glass cabochons. Even the interior of the front doors were decorated with this complex filigree inset with pebbles bordering leaded glass tiles. These works exemplified Tiffany’s fascination of Byzantine art, characterized by detailed decoration, intricate metalwork, and lavish gold backgrounds.
Between the crown and the rounded, ball feet is an elegantly hand-blown Favrile glass base with subtle ribbing along the sides. The glass presents as a deep emerald green, nearly black upon first glance, but with jewel like tones while illuminated. This type of base was first created as a fuel, or oil lamp, before being converted to electricity. Tiffany showed this base model at the Salon l’Art Nouveau in Paris in 1898 as pictured in the Dekorative Kunst from the same year.
Cecilia Waern had noted that these lamps were “a complete revolution of style.” She went on, “No two pieces of Favrile being exactly alike, each design has to be individually considered, and the hand-wrought metal made to follow all the caprices of the material; for instance, all the little dents and curves round the mouth of the vase, into which the well is sunk. The charm of direct contact with the material has worked in another way too, and the aim is to let the metal interfere as little as possible with the wonderful beauty of the glass. Much thought has of necessity to be expended keeping the two materials in proper relation to each other” (The Studio, August 1897). This combination of materials wasn’t reserved only for the base, the shades also implemented elaborate designs of metal filigree and selected glass, as seen in the example from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 2011.9.2).
The Dragonfly shade suits this base handsomely with fine filigree wings and a majestic selection Tiffany’s Favrile glass. Stylized dragonflies decorate the border of the shade, seemingly flying through the sky in tones of aquamarine, cerulean, gold, orange and peach. The shade is topped with a heat cap decorated with a beaded border, bringing the lamp together from top to bottom. The artistry of Tiffany is evident in each element, with an equally apparent mastery of craft in glass as well as metalwork.
In 1998, the present lamp was offered at Christie’s by Richard Hayward with this impressive provenance where it was sold for $255,500. It is now offered again from a private collection, presenting collectors with a unique opportunity to acquire an exceptional piece of Tiffany Studios history.