Cleveland Museum of Art

Turtleback Reading Lamp

Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company

Date

c. 1895–1902

Medium

Favrile glass, bronze

Culture

America, New York

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

By 1900 Louis Comfort Tiffany had expanded his empire by increasing the firm’s production of “fancy goods,” including inkstands, candlesticks, clocks, small boxes, desk sets, tea screens, and other functional objects, such as this small reading lamp for a desk. These smaller, more affordable luxury items were designed with as much thought to artistry as the great stained glass windows and table lamps through which the firm enjoyed unrivaled success. Louis Comfort Tiffany called the large pieces of cast glass with irregular shapes "turtleback," because they resemble the craggy shapes of a turtle's shell.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.