Property from a Distinguished West Coast CollectionTiffany Studios“October Nightshade” Chandelier
circa 1910leaded glass, patinated bronzeshade impressed TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK 62042 in. (106.7 cm) drop26½ in. (67.3 cm) diameter of shadeCondition reportOverall in very good condition. When viewed firsthand, the shade displays a predominantly cool coloration of blues and greens against which vibrant ruby red and orange nightshades pop. The background glass evokes a sky at sunset, transitioning from cobalt blue to pale cornflower to cream with yellow highlights, as the sun goes down on a sprawling vine with mottled apple and seafoam green leaves. The shade with approximately 21 hairline cracks dispersed throughout, stable and which is common for a hanging shade of this scale and complexity. The shade with some extremely light surface soiling concentrated to the contours adjacent to the leadlines. With later replaced ceiling canopy, socket cluster and chains in very good condition with minor wear and oxidation consistent with age and use. With period sockets. An incredibly poetic shade design with a rich and well-varied glass selection.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.ProvenanceMacklowe Gallery, New York
The Shedlarz Collection, 2001
Sotheby's New York, December 12, 2018, lot 322
Acquired from the above by the present ownerLiteratureRobert Koch, Louis C. Tiffany: Rebel in Glass, New York, 1964, p. 186 (for a workshop sample panel)
Robert Koch, Louis C. Tiffany: The Collected Works of Robert Koch, Atglen, PA, 2001, p. 116 (for a workshop sample panel)
David A. Hanks, Louis Comfort Tiffany Treasures from the Driehaus Collection, New York, 2013, cover and pp. 21 and 57
Alastair Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2019, p. 258, no. 1009Catalogue noteThis hanging shade is one of the rarest designs executed by Tiffany Studios. It is generally known as “October Night,” and if this were correct, this would be one of the most poetic names in Tiffany’s repertoire. The design is not listed on either the firm’s 1906 or 1910 Price Lists, but valuable information is provided by a workshop sample panel of this pattern, now preserved in the Morse Museum of American Art, Winter Park, Florida. It is one of a few such samples to have survived. A leaded metal plate soldered onto the leading bears the stamped designation “OCT. NIGHTSHADE.” In the past this was misunderstood to mean “a shade depicting an October night” but, rather, it should be read as designating a vine that is a member of the nightshade family. Tomatoes and eggplants are also members of the nightshade family, both of which bear fruit in the summer. The vine depicted here is one that flourishes in the fall, namely bittersweet. Its leaves (heart-shaped but occasionally irregular) are still green but the bright red berries announce the coming of fall.
This design is one of a number of octagonal hanging shades offered by Tiffany Studios, each with a different species of climbing vine: Nasturtium, Woodbine, Grape, and even one called “Mixed Vine.” The bars of the trellis give both visual and structural support, although every so often a bit of the vine creeps beyond the bottom bar—irrepressible truancy that Tiffany relished. Such a shade would have been hung over a dining table, and as one sat below it, just as under a real trellis, one could enjoy this last abundance of nature. Its imagery conjures up a crisp, autumnal day. The sky has an icy clarity now that the humidity of the summer has passed, and its color progresses from dark ultramarine to a light blue, just as in a print by Hokusai. Few examples of this hanging shade are known, making its beauty all the more precious.
—Martin Eidelberg
Property from a Distinguished West Coast CollectionTiffany Studios“October Nightshade” Chandelier
circa 1910leaded glass, patinated bronzeshade impressed TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK 62042 in. (106.7 cm) drop26½ in. (67.3 cm) diameter of shadeCondition reportOverall in very good condition. When viewed firsthand, the shade displays a predominantly cool coloration of blues and greens against which vibrant ruby red and orange nightshades pop. The background glass evokes a sky at sunset, transitioning from cobalt blue to pale cornflower to cream with yellow highlights, as the sun goes down on a sprawling vine with mottled apple and seafoam green leaves. The shade with approximately 21 hairline cracks dispersed throughout, stable and which is common for a hanging shade of this scale and complexity. The shade with some extremely light surface soiling concentrated to the contours adjacent to the leadlines. With later replaced ceiling canopy, socket cluster and chains in very good condition with minor wear and oxidation consistent with age and use. With period sockets. An incredibly poetic shade design with a rich and well-varied glass selection.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.ProvenanceMacklowe Gallery, New York
The Shedlarz Collection, 2001
Sotheby's New York, December 12, 2018, lot 322
Acquired from the above by the present ownerLiteratureRobert Koch, Louis C. Tiffany: Rebel in Glass, New York, 1964, p. 186 (for a workshop sample panel)
Robert Koch, Louis C. Tiffany: The Collected Works of Robert Koch, Atglen, PA, 2001, p. 116 (for a workshop sample panel)
David A. Hanks, Louis Comfort Tiffany Treasures from the Driehaus Collection, New York, 2013, cover and pp. 21 and 57
Alastair Duncan, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2019, p. 258, no. 1009Catalogue noteThis hanging shade is one of the rarest designs executed by Tiffany Studios. It is generally known as “October Night,” and if this were correct, this would be one of the most poetic names in Tiffany’s repertoire. The design is not listed on either the firm’s 1906 or 1910 Price Lists, but valuable information is provided by a workshop sample panel of this pattern, now preserved in the Morse Museum of American Art, Winter Park, Florida. It is one of a few such samples to have survived. A leaded metal plate soldered onto the leading bears the stamped designation “OCT. NIGHTSHADE.” In the past this was misunderstood to mean “a shade depicting an October night” but, rather, it should be read as designating a vine that is a member of the nightshade family. Tomatoes and eggplants are also members of the nightshade family, both of which bear fruit in the summer. The vine depicted here is one that flourishes in the fall, namely bittersweet. Its leaves (heart-shaped but occasionally irregular) are still green but the bright red berries announce the coming of fall.
This design is one of a number of octagonal hanging shades offered by Tiffany Studios, each with a different species of climbing vine: Nasturtium, Woodbine, Grape, and even one called “Mixed Vine.” The bars of the trellis give both visual and structural support, although every so often a bit of the vine creeps beyond the bottom bar—irrepressible truancy that Tiffany relished. Such a shade would have been hung over a dining table, and as one sat below it, just as under a real trellis, one could enjoy this last abundance of nature. Its imagery conjures up a crisp, autumnal day. The sky has an icy clarity now that the humidity of the summer has passed, and its color progresses from dark ultramarine to a light blue, just as in a print by Hokusai. Few examples of this hanging shade are known, making its beauty all the more precious.
—Martin Eidelberg
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