Grape Trellis Hanging Shade

c. 1905–10

Grape Trellis Hanging Shade, c. 1905–10. Tiffany Studios (American, New York, 1902–1932). Leaded glass, bronze; diameter: 76.2 cm (30 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Charles Maurer 2018.270 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. Tiffany encouraged his designers to take inspiration from his garden by shipping fresh cuttings almost weekly to his studios. Ohio native Clara Wolcott Driscoll and her team of female designers created floral patterns for lamps and mosaics based on the colorful blooms of spring that became among the most sought after and commercially successful of Tiffany’s production. This pendant fixture was designed to be hung close to the ceiling to simulate a grape arbor.