Mushroom Night Lamp

c. 1896–1902

Mushroom Night Lamp, c. 1896–1902. Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company (American, New York, 1892–1902), Tiffany Studios (American, New York, 1902–1932). Favrile glass; overall: 32.4 cm (12 3/4 in.); diameter of base: 17 cm (6 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Charles Maurer 2018.288 This small night lamp is made almost entirely of Louis Comfort Tiffany's signature Favrile glass. In the 1880s when Tiffany began collaborating with glass artists on new types of production, his aesthetic ambitions were realized in the development of Favrile glass, deliberately named to sound French, expensive, and “handmade.” Largely through Tiffany's marketing ability, Favrile glass became America’s greatest contribution to the Art Nouveau style. His works were exhibited at international expositions; galleries in major European cities, where his creations were bought by many museums; and in his store in Manhattan, known as the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Co., later Tiffany Studios. From the outset, Tiffany used Favrile glass in mosaic panels, stained glass windows, and his artistic line of table and floor lamps. Mushrooms were a popular Art Nouveau motif used throughout Louis Comfort Tiffany's artistic production.