16" Fish

The 16" Fish shade is one of our favorite Tiffany Studios shade designs. The shade shows a school of five Koi gently swimming in a pond, weaving amongst plant life. With their elegant swirling bodies and filigreed fins and tails, the fish form a rhythmic design across the surface of the shade. In many cultures, Koi symbolize good fortune, success, and prosperity. Koi come in different colors, each with its own meaning. Yamabuki, or Golden Koi symbolize riches, wealth and prosperity. We have created this lamp for our showroom and it is currently available for purchase in our studio.

When creating a shade for our showroom, we look to our library of glass for color inspiration and challenges. Sometimes, as is the case with this shade, we will select a piece of glass that we would not normally associate with a particular shade design. For this Fish, we began our glass selection by choosing an unusual piece of golden yellow ripple with deep red swirled into it. This glass became the the backdrop for the various green water plants. The Koi were then cut from a sheet of subtle yellow/green glass that had an undercurrent of peach. The completed shade has a warm, golden tone that radiates a tranquil glow. The shade is shown on the highly detailed Cereus base.

Lamp of the Week: 20" Poppy

One of our most popular lamp patterns is the 20" Poppy. The scale of the shade allows it to be used as a table lamp, chandelier fixture, or small floor lamp. Commissioned in 2005, the red and yellow flowers on this shade are set against a colorful blue background. Adding to excitement of this design are the pierced metal filigrees on the flower centers and leaves. The shade is shown on the elegant Lion's Foot base.

20" Dragonfly

Dragonfly lamps were always Tiffany Studios most popular designs. These distinctive patterns are available in multiple shapes and sizes. Since the pattern is somewhat abstract - dragonflies flying above an unspecified background - the color combinations for these shades is unlimited.

The multicolored background of this 20" Dragonfly was cut from a five color, granite textured glass, resulting in a glowing shade which shifts in color several times from top to bottom. The lighter green and blue dragonflies dance across the jeweled surface of the shade, hovering above the deep blue accent borders.

The shade is shown on the Twisted Vine base and was commissioned by a Midwest client.

Window of the Week: Proserpine

In Greek and Roman mythology, the goddess Proserpine was carried off to the Hades by Pluto, who married her despite her love for Adonis. When her father Ceres begged Jupiter to return his daughter to Earth, he agreed provided that she had not eaten any fruit in the Underworld. Since Proserpine had eaten six pomegranate seeds, she had to remain in Hades for six months each year, symbolizing the changing seasons.

Inspired by an 1874 painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (Rossetti painted eight versions of this image), we created Proserpine as a showroom piece in the early 1990's. Proserpine was the first of many windows we have made over the years inspired by Pre-Raphaelite paintings.

14" Daffodil

Daffodils were Louis Comfort Tiffany's favorite flower, so it comes as no surprise that there are many Tiffany daffodil shades in multiple sizes and shapes. The 14" Daffodil is the smallest of the various daffodil shade designs we create. Our client requested a vibrant color palette with sunlit daffodils against a blue sky. The rippled border glass enlivens the lower portion of the shade.

This lamp was commissioned by a client in England, and they chose the delightful Penguin Foot w/Arms base to support the shade. This compact base has four cast bronze arms and a single light.

Lamp of the Week: 22" Greek Key

Used throughout ancient Greece as a decorative element on architecture, clothing and weaponry, the "Greek Key" motif actually predates the Greeks. The design can be found adorning Egyptian tombs, ancient Peruvian weaving, Chinese buildings, and on Aztec sculpture. It was the Greeks however, who made the design their own. As a symbol of infinity and unity, it is a motif that can look classic and modern, and is still a major design element in decorative arts and furnishings today.

Tiffany Studios created several sizes of stained glass shades with the Greek Key motif. The large 22" Greek Key shade can be used as a table lamp, chandelier or on a floor base. We created this example for a client in Virginia in 2009, and it was the last project we finished at our former studio in downtown Minneapolis. Once completed, we started packing everything up to move to our current St. Paul location.

20" Dragonfly

Commissioned by an out of state client, this 20" Dragonfly lamp has the fiery warmth of burning embers. The shade is shown on the elegant Decorated Trumpet base.

The background for the shade was cut from textured green and red glass made in the late 1990's. The dragonflies have amber wings, red/orange bodies, and glowing green/amber eyes. The deep red and green glass "jewels" that dot the upper background of the shade were created at our studio.