Nautilus Reading Lamp

c. 1899–1902

maker

Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company

(America, New York, 1892–1902)

Culture

America, early 20th Century

Medium

bronze, leaded glass

Measurements

Overall: 34.5 x 21.3 x 13.4 cm (13 9/16 x 8 3/8 x 5 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Bequest of Virginia Hubbell 1997.298

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Location

209 Tiffany

Did You Know?

A lamp of this design was first featured in Siegfried Bing's 1899 display of Louis Comfort Tiffany's designs at the Grafton Galleries in London then in Tiffany's own stand at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle.

Description

Benjamin Hubbell, the architect of the Cleveland Museum of Art, acquired this vase from Louis Comfort Tiffany, with whom he collaborated on various projects. The shape of the nautilus shell provides the perfect space to conceal a light bulb, the newest form of technology at the time. As a result, this lamp was a critical success and sold both in this original form and with the later alteration of a bronze mermaid for the stand and an actual nautilus shell for the shade.