Turtleback Reading Lamp (c. 1895–1902): Art, History and Details

Turtleback Reading Lamp (c. 1895–1902) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company (America, New York, 1892–1902).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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.

Object facts

• Title: Turtleback Reading Lamp
• Date: c. 1895–1902
• Creator attribution: Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company (America, New York, 1892–1902)
• Culture: America, New York
• Type: Lamp
• Technique: Favrile glass, bronze
• Dimensions: Overall: 35.6 cm (14 in.); Diameter of top: 35.6 x 21.6 cm (14 x 8 1/2 in.); Diameter of base: 35.6 x 15.2 cm (14 x 6 in.)
• Collection: Decorative Arts
• Department: Decorative Art and Design
• Accession number: 2018.287

A detail from the museum

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.

Collection credit

Bequest of Charles Maurer

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.