The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Table lamp with a colorful, glass lampshade resembling peacock feathers over a bronze body reminiscent of a peacock's body, having a broad shoulder with scalloped feather patterns, narrowing before flaring at the base with larger peacock feathers. The lamp shade, a shallow dome over the lamp, is patterned with blue, orange, red, and green glass. Winding, dark lines connect the various pieces of glass together, light from the bulb within highlighting the glass's striated shades.

Peacock Table Lamp

c. 1902
designer

probably by Clara Wolcott Driscoll

(American, 1861–1944)
maker

Tiffany Studios

(America, New York, 1902–1932)
America, New York
Leaded glass, bronze
Diameter: 48 cm (18 7/8 in.); Overall: 65 cm (25 9/16 in.)
Bequest of Charles Maurer 2018.281
Location: 001A ArtLens Exhibition

Did You Know?

Originally designed to burn kerosene, this Peacock lamp still retains its original double wick and oil reservoir along with an adapter for electric light bulbs.

Description

The peacock, with its brilliantly colored iridescent plumage, was a favorite motif of Louis Comfort Tiffany, appearing in almost every genre of his artistic production. The Peacock table lamp, created by Tiffany's chief lamp designer Clara Wolcott Driscoll, evokes the wide circular swath of a peacock's preening feathers and attracted critical acclaim to both Driscoll and Tiffany Studios. This particular version retains its original kerosene burning fluid apparatus as well as an electric bulb armature. Although incandescent lamp bulbs had become more widely available in the 1890s, most households, even those of the wealthy, were not yet wired for electricity. Tiffany originally designed his lamps with an oil-burning apparatus, consisting of a reservoir and a double wick and chimney, as well as an electric attachment. He cleverly predicted, though, that electric households would eventually become commonplace, so he soon moved to all-electric designs, greatly increasing the illumination and appeal of his lamps.
  • ?–2018
    Charles Maurer [1929-2016], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2018–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Harrison, Stephen, Emmanuel Ducamp, and Jeannine J. Falino. Artistic Luxury: Fabergé Tiffany Lalique. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008. Reproduced: Pg. 290; Discussed: Pg. 291; Mentioned: Pg. 340 (Cat. No. 292)
    Harrison, Stephen. “Acquisitions 2018: Decorative Art and Design.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 59, no. 2 (March/April 2019): 10-12. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 11.
    "King Louis". Antique Collecting 58, no. 7 (December/January 2023-24): 36-40. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 39
  • Tiffany in Bloom: Stained Glass Lamps of Louis Comfort Tiffany. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 20, 2019-October 4, 2020).
    Artistic Luxury: Fabergé Tiffany Lalique . The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 19, 2008-January 18, 2009); Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (February 7-May 31, 2009).
  • {{cite web|title=Peacock Table Lamp|url=false|author=Clara Wolcott Driscoll, Tiffany Studios|year=c. 1902|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2018.281