Lot Essay
The Art Nouveau period was steeped in themes taken from nature, but often its themes were borrowed from Oriental sources or incorporated Symbolist themes. Typical Symbolist deisgn schemes were poppies, representing the property of sleep-inducing opium, orchids in their various states of life and death, and bats, evoking the many mysteries of a mammal which sleeps during the day and spreads its wings to fly by night. Bats also represent long life and good fortune in the Chinese culture. Here Tiffany embraces Symbolist themes and incorporates bats and their mysticism in this shade and base, listed in the Tiffany Studios Price List as "Model No. 353, Bat Lamp and Shade, complete" and priced at $125.00 in 1906.
The present example of the Bat Lamp is that which is illustrated in the Tiffany Studios album. It is reasonable to assume that this model, which is one of five or six known, is of an early date. Contextually, the 'Bat' Lamp (353) falls into the numbering sequence with the 'Squash' Lamp (354) and the 'Lotus' Lamp (354), which leads one to believe that Tiffany was working through a series of models more attuned to Art Nouveau or Symbolist themes than the floral designs which predominated in the various Price Lists from the Studios. However, even in these lamps of Symbolist subject matter, he can't resist the temptation of making them beautiful. The faces of the bats on this shade are unabashedly pretty; the faces are almost feminine in nature. The bodies are uniquely represented in matte glass rather than a reflective glass to simulate the soft brown fur of the bats' coats. They are further silhouetted against a night sky of azure blue streaked with green to provide the appropriate atmosphere.
By closely comparing this example to the original photograph in the Tiffany Studios album, it is clear that both base and shade are identical to the present example. Inexplicably, the base on this lamp is stamped 760 as opposed to 353, but this does not deviate from similar inconsistencies in Tiffany markings on other shades and bases. Like this example, that which sold from the Warshawsky collection (Sotheby's New York, June 5, 1996, lot 54) was stamped 760 on the base, although the photograph is marked with the number 353 which is cited in the Tiffany Studios Price List. This original photograph is also stamped with the price of $125.00, the cost which appears on the Tiffany Studios Price List of 1906. Despite that this model is not listed on the Price List of 1933, it is interesting to note that identical models increased in price by approximately 25 over that twenty-seven year period.
The present example of the Bat Lamp is that which is illustrated in the Tiffany Studios album. It is reasonable to assume that this model, which is one of five or six known, is of an early date. Contextually, the 'Bat' Lamp (353) falls into the numbering sequence with the 'Squash' Lamp (354) and the 'Lotus' Lamp (354), which leads one to believe that Tiffany was working through a series of models more attuned to Art Nouveau or Symbolist themes than the floral designs which predominated in the various Price Lists from the Studios. However, even in these lamps of Symbolist subject matter, he can't resist the temptation of making them beautiful. The faces of the bats on this shade are unabashedly pretty; the faces are almost feminine in nature. The bodies are uniquely represented in matte glass rather than a reflective glass to simulate the soft brown fur of the bats' coats. They are further silhouetted against a night sky of azure blue streaked with green to provide the appropriate atmosphere.
By closely comparing this example to the original photograph in the Tiffany Studios album, it is clear that both base and shade are identical to the present example. Inexplicably, the base on this lamp is stamped 760 as opposed to 353, but this does not deviate from similar inconsistencies in Tiffany markings on other shades and bases. Like this example, that which sold from the Warshawsky collection (Sotheby's New York, June 5, 1996, lot 54) was stamped 760 on the base, although the photograph is marked with the number 353 which is cited in the Tiffany Studios Price List. This original photograph is also stamped with the price of $125.00, the cost which appears on the Tiffany Studios Price List of 1906. Despite that this model is not listed on the Price List of 1933, it is interesting to note that identical models increased in price by approximately 25 over that twenty-seven year period.