Cleveland Museum of Art

Pansy Border Table Lamp

Clara Wolcott Driscoll

Date

c. 1902–10

Medium

Leaded glass, blown glass, bronze

Culture

America, New York

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

In the 1870s a renewed emphasis on natural landscapes ushered in a generation of cottage gardeners who delighted in planting perennials in large quantities. Louis Comfort Tiffany was among those who championed the lush, sometimes wild-looking displays of varied floral species in the garden at his Long Island estate, Laurelton Hall. He encouraged his designers to take inspiration from his garden by shipping fresh cuttings almost weekly to his studios. Ohio native Clara Wolcott Driscoll created patterns based on the colorful blooms of spring that became among the most sought after and commercially successful of Tiffany’s production. This lamp features a rare base in which green glass is blown into a bronze cage—a very difficult technique since glass and bronze cool at different temperatures risking a complete shatter if not executed correctly.

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