The 15″ Spider lamp is a Tiffany lamp design that often gets a strong reaction from viewers. The shade, especially when created in deep brooding colors creates an evocative mood with the spider resting atop its web, waiting for the unwary to approach. The example in amber/purple pictured at the right was created in January 2008 for a client in the Chicago area.
Interestingly, this shade was not originally referred to as a spider design in the Tiffany Studios price guide. The official description of the shade was, “geometric plain, heavy ribs for #337 base”. The #337 base is the Mushroom base shown in the photos and is a perfect mate for this shade. It is no wonder that original Tiffany examples of the spider are almost always matched with this base since it is called out this way on the price guide. The amber spider pictured on the left was created in June 2006 for a California client.
There is little doubt when viewing this shade that the inspiration for the design is a spider and web pattern, even though the spider only has six bronze legs extending almost the entire depth of the shade. The perforated vent cap provides the body of the spider. As can be seen in the three examples pictured here, the spider shade can be made in many different color combinations.
Our third example of this shade is a wonderful bittersweet color and is currently available for purchase in our showroom.